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Review
. 2011 Mar;32(3):110-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.it.2011.01.003. Epub 2011 Feb 18.

Inflammasome activation and IL-1β and IL-18 processing during infection

Frank L van de Veerdonk  1 , Mihai G Netea, Charles A Dinarello, Leo A B Joosten
Affiliations
Review

Inflammasome activation and IL-1β and IL-18 processing during infection

Frank L van de Veerdonk et al. Trends Immunol. 2011 Mar.

Abstract

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 contribute to host defense against infection by augmenting antimicrobial properties of phagocytes and initiating Th1 and Th17 adaptive immune responses. Protein complexes called inflammasomes activate intracellular caspase-1 autocatalytically, which cleaves the inactive precursors of IL-1β and IL-18 into bioactive cytokines. In this review, we discuss the controversies regarding inflammasome activation and the role of the inflammasome during infection. We highlight alternative mechanisms for processing IL-1β and IL-18 during infection, which involve extracellular cleavage of the inactive cytokines by neutrophil-derived serine proteases or proteases released from cytotoxic T cells.

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