Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026

Detection of Inflammasome Activation and Pyroptotic Cell Death in Murine Bone Marrow-derived Macrophages
Published on: May 21, 2018
Activation of inflammasomes by tumor cell death mediated by gold nanoshells
Hai T Nguyen1, Kenny K Tran, Bingbing Sun
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, Box 351750, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Abstract:
Gold nanoshell-enabled photothermal therapy (NEPTT) utilizes the efficient thermal conversion of near infrared (NIR) light for the ablation of cancer cells. Cancer therapies that combine cell killing with the induction of a strong immune response against the dying tumor cells have been shown to increase therapeutic efficacy in the clearance and regression of cancers. In this study, we assessed the ability of dying cells generated by in vitro NEPTT to activate inflammasome complexes. We quantified levels of major danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and uric acid, released from tumor cells treated by NEPTT. The amount of DAMPs released was dependent on the dose of nanoshells internalized by cells. However, under all the employed conditions, the levels of generated DAMPs were insufficient to activate inflammasome complexes and to induce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e. IL-1β). The results from this study provide insights into the development of nanoplasmonics for combining both photothermal therapy and immunotherapy to eradicate cancers.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
Autophagic Cell Death
Autophagy and Apoptosis
Autophagy can activate apoptosis. In normal conditions, the autophagy activating protein Beclin-1 and pro-apoptotic...
The Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
Phagocytosis of Apoptotic Cells
Normal cells contain receptors that prevent them from being recognized by phagocytes.
Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
Apoptosis

