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Molecular mechanisms regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 13, pages 148–159 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Inflammasomes are multi-protein signaling complexes that trigger the activation of inflammatory caspases and the maturation of interleukin-1β. Among various inflammasome complexes, the NLRP3 inflammasome is best characterized and has been linked with various human autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Thus, the NLRP3 inflammasome may be a promising target for anti-inflammatory therapies. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the mechanisms by which the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated in the cytosol. We also describe the binding partners of NLRP3 inflammasome complexes activating or inhibiting the inflammasome assembly. Our knowledge of the mechanisms regulating NLRP3 inflammasome signaling and how these influence inflammatory responses offers further insight into potential therapeutic strategies to treat inflammatory diseases associated with dysregulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to current and past members of our laboratory for discussions and investigations that contributed to this article. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2007-0054932) and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (2015M3C9A2054326). I apologize to colleagues whose work and publications could not be referenced owing to space constraints. The authors have no financial conflict of interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, 301-747, South Korea

    Eun-Kyeong Jo, Jin Kyung Kim & Dong-Min Shin

  2. Infection Signaling Network Research Center, Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon, 301-747, South Korea

    Eun-Kyeong Jo, Jin Kyung Kim & Dong-Min Shin

  3. Medical Mycology Research Center, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8673, Japan

    Chihiro Sasakawa

  4. Nippon Institute for Biological Science, Tokyo, 198-0024, Japan

    Chihiro Sasakawa

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Correspondence to Eun-Kyeong Jo.

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Jo, EK., Kim, J., Shin, DM. et al. Molecular mechanisms regulating NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Cell Mol Immunol 13, 148–159 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2015.95

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