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Updated: May 29, 2026

Detection of Inflammasome Activation and Pyroptotic Cell Death in Murine Bone Marrow-derived Macrophages
Published on: May 21, 2018
Inflammatory caspases: linking an intracellular innate immune system to autoinflammatory diseases
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, Chemin des Boveresses 155, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Caspases not only play an essential role during apoptotic cell death, but a subfamily of them-the inflammatory caspases-are associated with immune responses to microbial pathogens. Activation of inflammatory caspases, such as caspase-1 and caspase-5, occurs upon assembly of an intracellular complex, designated the inflammasome. This results in the cleavage and activation of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-18. Mutations in one of the scaffold proteins of the inflammasome, NALP3/Cryopyrin, are associated with autoinflammatory disorders underscoring the importance of regulating inflammatory caspase activation.
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