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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Detection of Inflammasome Activation and Pyroptotic Cell Death in Murine Bone Marrow-derived Macrophages
Published on: May 21, 2018
Detection of Inflammasome Activation by P2X7 Purinoceptor Activation by Determining ASC Oligomerization
Helios Martínez-Banaclocha1, Pablo Pelegrín2
1Biomedical Research Institute of Murcia (IMIB), Clinical University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, Murcia, Spain. heliosmar@live.com.
Abstract:
The purinoceptor P2X7 is highly expressed in cells of the innate immune system, including monocytes and macrophages. Its activation is a potent signal to activate the NLRP3 inflammasome and induce the release of proinflammatory cytokines of the IL-1 family. In this chapter, we present a method to monitor NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human monocytes upon P2X7 receptor stimulation by detecting intracellular oligomers of ASC by flow cytometry. This method could be used to evaluate the degree of inflammasome activation in blood samples from patients suffering different chronic inflammatory diseases.
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