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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Bone Marrow-derived Macrophage Production
Published on: November 22, 2013
Sensing the enemy within: how macrophages detect intracellular Gram-negative bacteria
Dieter Demon1, Lieselotte Vande Walle1, Mohamed Lamkanfi1
1Department of Medical Protein Research, VIB, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium.
Abstract:
Caspase-11 contributes to host defense against Gram-negative bacterial pathogens by inducing an inflammatory form of programmed cell death in infected cells. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) have been identified as the microbial agents that stimulate caspase-11 activation; however, the mechanism of LPS detection has been unknown. In a recent study, Shao and colleagues demonstrate that caspase-11 and its human homologues, caspases -4 and -5, unexpectedly act as direct sensors of cytosolic LPS.
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