Assessment of inflammasome activation in primary human immune cells

Inflammasomes are central regulators of inflammation, responsible for cleavage of the inactive pro--inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 into their biologically active counterparts. Several regulatory stages within the pathways responsible for the production of these cytokines have been identified. In this chapter, methods are described for assessing the degree of activity of these regulatory stages, which include mRNA transcription, caspase-1 activation, and secretion of the bioactive proteins.