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Author Spotlight: Flow Cytometric Determination of Pyroptosis in Avian Cells
Published on: May 31, 2024
Pyroptosis and Its Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Zsofia Agnes Bittner1, Markus Schrader2, Shilpa Elizabeth George1
1Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
The pore-forming inflammatory cell death pathway, pyroptosis, was first described in the early 1990s and its role in health and disease has been intensively studied since. The effector molecule GSDMD is cleaved by activated caspases, mainly Caspase 1 or 11 (Caspase 4/5 in humans), downstream of inflammasome formation. In this review, we describe the molecular events related to GSDMD-mediated pore formation. Furthermore, we summarize the so far elucidated ways of SARS-CoV-2 induced NLRP3 inflammasome formation leading to pyroptosis, which strongly contributes to COVID-19 pathology. We also explore the potential of NLRP3 and GSDMD inhibitors as therapeutics to counter excessive inflammation.
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