炎性小体激活与细胞焦亡的研究进展

细胞焦亡是一种依赖天冬氨酸特异性半胱氨酸蛋白酶1(cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1,caspase-1)/caspase-11的程序性细胞死亡方式。炎性小体的激活在细胞焦亡过程中扮演重要角色。当病原体入侵时,核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体(nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor,NLR)和黑色素瘤缺乏因子2(absent in melanoma 2,AIM2)等胞内模式识别受体(pattern recognition receptor,PRR)与相应配体结合,导致炎性小体多蛋白复合物组装和caspase-1/caspase-11激活,进而诱导细胞焦亡发生。深入研究炎性小体激活和细胞焦亡的相关机制,对认识炎症性疾病的发生发展非常重要。本文就炎性小体激活与细胞焦亡的研究进展进行综述。     

细胞焦亡在肿瘤发生、发展与治疗中的作用

细胞焦亡(pyroptosis)又称细胞炎性坏死，是Gasdermin蛋白家族介导的一种程序性细胞死亡，表现为细胞不断肿胀直至细胞膜破裂，导致细胞内容物释放，进而激活强烈的炎症反应。近年来，细胞焦亡在肿瘤发病机制中的作用变得越来越突出，焦亡信号通路分子及细胞焦亡过程中释放的多种炎症介质与肿瘤的发生、发展及对肿瘤化疗和免疫治疗的反应密切相关。由于肿瘤的异质性，细胞焦亡在不同肿瘤中的作用并不相同，因此有必要研究细胞焦亡在不同肿瘤中的具体作用机制。从药理学角度，寻求促进生成炎症小体或激活焦亡通路的分子底物，为肿瘤药物的研发和治疗提供更多思路。细胞焦亡在一定程度上也解答了肿瘤化疗和免疫治疗副作用产生的原因。细胞焦亡在肿瘤治疗过程中是“双刃剑”,如何调节药物在肿瘤组织、正常组织和免疫微环境中诱导细胞焦亡的方式和程度，对于提高肿瘤的化疗和免疫治疗效果，降低毒副作用具有重要的意义。本文就细胞焦亡的类型及分子机制，细胞焦亡在肿瘤的发生发展及其在肿瘤化疗、放射治疗、中药治疗和免疫治疗过程中发挥的作用进行综述，以期为临床肿瘤治疗和预后分析提供新靶点。     

病原体逃逸宿主固有免疫的新策略：抑制细胞焦亡

细胞焦亡是一种由Gasdermin家族蛋白介导的新型程序性细胞死亡。当宿主细胞感应病原体感染或其他危险信号时，Gasdermin家族蛋白被切割活化并诱导细胞焦亡。细胞焦亡过程往往伴随大量炎性细胞因子释放，这些炎性细胞因子在宿主清除病原体过程中发挥着至关重要作用，而病原体在与宿主长期“博弈”过程中也进化出抑制细胞焦亡的策略以实现免疫逃逸。本文介绍了细胞焦亡的发现历程及其在抗感染免疫中的重要功能，并总结了病原体抑制细胞焦亡的多种新策略及其相关研究进展。深入理解细胞焦亡的发生及调控机制，可揭示相关感染性疾病的发病机制并有助于开发有效的抗感染治疗策略。     

炎性小体在诱导脊髓损伤神经炎症中的作用

脊髓损伤的治疗与康复一直是医学领域的重大难题,尤其是在改善损伤的神经功能方面进展甚微。继发性损伤是造成脊髓损伤后神经功能障碍的主要原因,炎症反应是继发性损伤阶段最重要的病理过程。急性期通过抑制神经炎症来减轻继发性损伤被认为可减轻神经功能损害而达到神经保护作用。炎性小体是一类蛋白质复合体,由模式识别受体中的NLRs家族和PHYIN家族的受体蛋白质作为主要框架组装并命名,常见的炎性小体包括NLRP1、NLRP3、NLRC4(IPAF)、AIM2等。在感染或受到损伤刺激时,炎性小体在细胞质内组装,并激活促炎症蛋白酶胱天蛋白酶1(caspase-1),活化的胱天蛋白酶1一方面促进促炎症细胞因子IL-1β和IL-18的前体成熟和分泌,另一方面介导细胞焦亡。细胞焦亡以细胞肿胀破裂并释放细胞内容物为特征,是在炎症和应激的病理条件下诱导的程序性细胞死亡方式。促炎症细胞因子和焦亡释放的胞内物质都可作为促炎信号引发炎症反应。近期发现,炎性小体通过诱导促炎因子释放以及介导细胞焦亡等途径, 参与激活脊髓损伤后的炎症级联反应,加重继发性神经炎症。靶向抑制炎性小体的激活可减轻炎症反应,促进神经细胞存活,达到神经保护作用。因此,炎性小体有望成为脊髓损伤治疗的新靶点。本文拟从炎性小体的结构及其在脊髓损伤中的作用、激活机制和治疗前景进行综述,以期为后续研究提供思路。     

GSDMs家族蛋白介导细胞焦亡在抗肿瘤免疫中的作用

细胞焦亡是一种调节性细胞死亡方式。Gasdermine（GSDMs）是一类执行细胞焦亡的胞内蛋白质。虽然GSDMs表达后的完整蛋白质不具有活性,但能被某些蛋白水解酶激活。被激活的GSDMs N端在质膜上穿孔,导致细胞裂解,引起细胞内的促炎分子及损伤相关分子模式（danger-associated molecular patterns,DAMPs）迅速有效地从焦亡细胞中释放,从而引发炎症和免疫反应。焦亡细胞促进抗肿瘤免疫作用可能涉及细胞毒性T淋巴细胞对肿瘤细胞的杀伤。本文介绍GSDMs介导的细胞焦亡及细胞焦亡过程中引发促炎症和免疫反应的关键分子,并且探讨细胞焦亡对肿瘤治疗的有利及不利因素,以期更好地了解细胞焦亡对肿瘤免疫微环境的影响及对肿瘤免疫治疗的作用,有助于促进恶性肿瘤治疗策略的改进。     

细胞焦亡机制及与疾病的关系

细胞焦亡(pyroptosis)是近年来发现的一种区别于细胞凋亡的促炎程序性死亡方式。焦亡途径包括半胱天冬酶(caspase)-1介导的经典焦亡途径和Caspase-4/5/11介导的非经典焦亡途径。细胞焦亡涉及多种炎性小体的激活,如核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体蛋白3(NLR pyrin domain containing 3,NLRP3)、核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域样受体蛋白C4 (NLR containing a caspase recruitment domain 4,NLRC4)以及黑色素瘤缺乏因子2 (absent in melanoma 2,AIM2)等。Gasdermin-D(GSDMD)是参与细胞焦亡的关键切割蛋白,最终导致膜蛋白通道开放、膜孔形成、白细胞介素(interleukins,ILs)释放,从而扩大炎症反应。细胞焦亡介导许多疾病如感染性疾病、神经系统疾病、心血管疾病、代谢性疾病以及炎症免疫性疾病等。本文综述了细胞焦亡机制及与疾病关系的研究进展。     

细胞焦亡分子机制及其调控

与基因相关的细胞死亡途径统称为细胞程序性死亡,细胞焦亡是一种新近发现的依赖炎性半胱天冬氨酸酶,并且伴随炎症反应的细胞程序性死亡方式。细胞焦亡的生物学特征、发生与调控机制都区别于其他细胞死亡方式。简要概述了细胞焦亡的研究历史,并从非编码RNA、细胞应激、受体蛋白和化学物质4个方面详细介绍了细胞焦亡的影响因素和调控机制,以期明确细胞焦亡在先天免疫中的角色。     

细胞焦亡研究进展

细胞焦亡是一种促炎性的细胞程序性死亡方式,其生化及形态学特征、发生机制都与细胞凋亡等其他细胞死亡方式有着显著的不同。细胞焦亡的发生不仅与感染性疾病有关,而且与代谢性疾病、神经系统疾病和动脉粥样硬化等疾病的发生、发展密切相关。通过对细胞焦亡发生机制及其与相关疾病发生、发展的关系进行研究,有利于了解这些疾病的发病机理,并为治愈这些疾病提供新的思路及作用靶点。     

细胞焦亡与代谢性疾病的研究进展

细胞焦亡是一种与炎性应答有关的细胞程序性死亡方式,与高血脂、高血糖、痛风和动脉粥样硬化等多种代谢性疾病密切相关。通过caspase-1依赖或非依赖的机制调节的细胞焦亡都参与代谢性疾病的发展。在caspase-1依赖的细胞焦亡中,多种代谢性疾病有关的危险信号激活Nod样受体蛋白3炎症小体,导致细胞焦亡、白介素-1β水平增加,进而激活局部及全身炎症反应,是代谢性疾病发生发展的重要原因之一。革兰氏阴性菌释放的脂多糖能直接激活caspase-4/5/11,导致caspase-1非依赖的细胞焦亡。抑制细胞炎症小体–焦亡通路未来可能成为改善代谢性疾病的有效治疗策略之一,然而,由于细胞焦亡调节代谢稳态的机制仍不清楚,因此还需要进一步研究。     

细胞焦亡在黄病毒致病机制中的作用

黄病毒(flavivirus)是一类具有包膜的单股正链RNA病毒,经蚊虫叮咬传播,是新发突发传染性疾病的重要病原体,严重威胁着人类健康。尽管不同黄病毒引起的临床疾病不同,但是它们的临床症状却有一些相似之处,发热是黄病毒感染后最常见的症状,而且往往表现为高热。研究发现,寨卡病毒和日本脑炎病毒感染中存在胱天蛋白酶1 (caspase1)依赖的炎性反应,而这一过程与细胞焦亡(pyroptosis)的部分机制相吻合。细胞焦亡是一种依赖于胱天蛋白酶(caspases)的炎性细胞程序性死亡类型,其特征有焦孔素(gasdermin)介导的孔形成、细胞肿胀破裂和炎性细胞因子释放。本文对黄病毒感染引起的固有免疫中巨噬细胞的焦亡现象进行综述,对细胞焦亡的分子机制、细胞焦亡的重要组分作用进行总结,分析了细胞焦亡与代表性黄病毒之间的关系,以期为细胞焦亡在黄病毒致病机制的后续研究提供参考,为抗病毒感染治疗提供新的思路。     

GSDMD介导的细胞焦亡在感染性疾病中的研究进展

细胞焦亡是细胞感染时由炎症小体介导,以裂解细胞为特点的程序性死亡形式。其激活途径分为依赖半胱氨酸蛋白酶-1或半胱氨酸蛋白酶-4/5/11活化的经典与非经典途径。目前的研究表明细胞焦亡过程中主要效应蛋白是具有膜成孔活性的gasdermin(也作GSDM)家族成员。因此,细胞焦亡也被称为gasdermin介导的程序性坏死。当宿主受到感染时,细胞焦亡与宿主自身其他免疫防御机制存在互相调节机制,保证宿主在清除感染的同时降低自身损伤程度。本文笔者将从研究最为广泛的GSDMD在细胞焦亡途径中的作用机制、细胞焦亡在感染性疾病中的研究进展以及细胞焦亡与其他程序性死亡在感染性疾病中的相互作用这三个方面作系统叙述,期望为今后研究如何通过细胞焦亡途径治疗感染性疾病提供理论基础。     

Liraglutide Ameliorates Cerebral Ischemia in Mice via Antipyroptotic Pathways

Neurochemical Research - It was recently shown that pyroptosis, an inflammatory form of programmed cell death, is critically involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Liraglutide (Lg) is a...     

Pyroptosis and host cell death responses during Salmonella infection

Salmonella enterica are facultatively intracellular pathogens causing diseases with markedly visible signs of inflammation. During infection, Salmonella interacts with various host cell types, often resulting in death of those cells. Salmonella induces intestinal epithelial cell death via apoptosis, a cell death programme with a notably non-inflammatory outcome. In contrast, macrophage infection triggers caspase-1-dependent proinflammatory programmed cell death, a recently recognized process termed pyroptosis, which is distinguished from other forms of cellular demise by its unique mechanism, features and inflammatory outcome. Rapid macrophage pyroptosis depends on the Salmonella pathogenicity island-1 type III secretion system (T3SS) and flagella. Salmonella dynamically modulates induction of macrophage pyroptosis, and regulation of T3SS systems permits bacterial replication in specialized intracellular niches within macrophages. However, these infected macrophages later undergo a delayed form of caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis. Caspase-1-deficient mice are more susceptible to a number of bacterial infections, including salmonellosis, and pyroptosis is therefore considered a generalized protective host response to infection. Thus, Salmonella-induced pyroptosis serves as a model to understand a broadly important pathway of proinflammatory programmed host cell death: examining this system affords insight into mechanisms of both beneficial and pathological cell death and strategies employed by pathogens to modulate host responses.     

Caspase-3-mediated GSDME induced Pyroptosis in breast cancer cells through the ROS/JNK signalling pathway

Pyroptosis is a new form of programmed cell death generated by some inflammasomes, piloting the cleavage of gasdermin (GSDM) and stimulation of dormant cytokines like IL-18 and IL-1β; these reactions are narrowly linked to certain diseases like diabetic nephropathy and atherosclerosis. Doxorubicin, a typical anthracycline, and famous anticancer drug has emerged as a prominent medication in several cancer chemotherapies, although its application is accompanied with expending of dose-dependent, increasing, irreversible and continuing cardiotoxic side effects. However, the exact path that links the induced pyroptosis to the mechanism by which Doxorubicin (DOX) acts against breast cancer cells is still puzzling. The present study seeks to elucidate the potential link between DOX-induced cell death and pyroptosis in two human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and T47D). We proved that treatment with DOX reduced the cell viability in a dose-dependent way and induced pyroptosis morphology in MDA-MB-231 and T47D cells. Also, protein expression analyses revealed GSDME as a key regulator in DOX-induced pyroptosis and highlighted the related role of Caspase-3 activation. Furthermore, DOX treatments induced intracellular accumulation of ROS, stimulated the phosphorylation of JNK, and Caspase-3 activation, subsequently. In conclusion, the study suggests that GSDME triggered DOX-induced pyroptosis in the caspase-3 dependent reactions through the ROS/JNK signalling pathway. Additionally, it showed that the DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and pyroptosis in breast cancer cells can be minimized by reducing the protein level of GSDME; thus, these outcomes provide a new research target and implications for the anticancer investigations and therapeutic applications.     

Dioscin inhibits the growth of human osteosarcoma by inducing G2/M-phase arrest,apoptosis, and GSDME-dependent cell death in vitro and in vivo

Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death (PCD) that plays a vital role in immunity and diseases. Although it was recently reported that chemotherapy drugs can induce pyroptosis through caspase-3-dependent cleavage of gasdermin E (GSDME), the role of pyroptosis in osteosarcoma (OS) with dioscin is less understood. In this study, we explored the effects of dioscin on OS in vitro and in vivo and further elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms and found that dioscin-triggered pyroptosis in GSDME-dependent cell death and that GSDME-N was generated by caspase-3. Furthermore, dioscin inhibited cancer cell growth by inducing G2/M arrest and apoptosis through the JNK/p38 pathway. In vivo, dioscin significantly inhibited OS proliferation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that dioscin can induce apoptosis through the JNK/p38 pathway and GSDME-dependent pyroptosis in OS, identifying it as a potential therapeutic drug for treatment of this disease.     

Pyroptosis-Induced Inflammation and Tissue Damage

Programmed cell deaths are pathways involving cells playing an active role in their own destruction. Depending on the signaling system of the process, programmed cell death can be divided into two categories, pro-inflammatory and non-inflammatory. Pyroptosis is a pro-inflammatory form of programmed cell death. Upon cell death, a plethora of cytokines are released and trigger a cascade of responses from the neighboring cells. The pyroptosis process is a double-edged sword, could be both beneficial and detrimental in various inflammatory disorders and disease conditions. A physiological outcome of these responses is tissue damage, and sometimes death of the host. In this review, we focus on the inflammatory response triggered by pyroptosis, and resulting tissue damage in selected organs.     

Pyroptosis,a target for cancer treatment?

Pyroptosis is a newly discovered form of programmed cell death mediated by the gasdermin protein, that is accompanied by inflammation and immune response. A growing body of evidence suggests that pyroptosis is closely related to cancer, and it is becoming a new cancer research topic. Studies have suggested that different cancer cells activate pyroptosis in different ways and that the effects of pyroptosis vary in different cancer backgrounds. In this article, we briefly introduce the definition, characteristics, and activation pathways of pyroptosis. Then we review the complex effects of pyroptosis on cancer development, which generally include inhibition of cancer cell viability, impacts on the invasion and migration of cancer cells, improvement of antitumor immunity, and enhancement of chemotherapy sensitivity. We also discuss drugs and compounds that can induce pyroptosis, as well as the interaction between pyroptosis and apoptosis. Elucidating the mechanisms of the complex effects of pyroptosis is likely to pave the way for therapeutic approaches for cancer in the future.

     

Proto-pyroptosis: An Ancestral Origin for Mammalian Inflammatory Cell Death Mechanism in Drosophila melanogaster

Pyroptosis has been described in mammalian systems to be a form of programmed cell death that is important in immune function through the subsequent release of cytokines and immune effectors upon cell bursting. This form of cell death has been increasingly well-characterized in mammals and can occur using alternative routes however, across phyla, there has been little evidence for the existence of pyroptosis. Here we provide evidence for an ancient origin of pyroptosis in an in vivo immune scenario in Drosophila melanogaster. Crystal cells, a type of insect blood cell, were recruited to wounds and ruptured subsequently releasing their cytosolic content in a caspase-dependent manner. This inflammatory-based programmed cell death mechanism fits the features of pyroptosis, never before described in an in vivo immune scenario in insects and relies on ancient apoptotic machinery to induce proto-pyroptosis. Further, we unveil key players upstream in the activation of cell death in these cells including the apoptosome which may play an alternative role akin to the inflammasome in proto-pyroptosis. Thus, Drosophila may be a suitable model for studying the functional significance of pyroptosis in the innate immune system.     

Apoptin induces pyroptosis of colorectal cancer cells via the GSDME-dependent pathway

Apoptin is a small molecular weight protein encoded by the VP3 gene of chicken anemia virus (CAV). It can induce apoptosis of tumor cells and play anti-tumorigenic functions. In this study, we identified a time-dependent inhibitory role of apoptin on the viability of HCT116 cells. We also demonstrated that apoptin induces pyroptosis through cleaved caspase 3, and with a concomitant cleavage of gasdermin E (GSDME) rather than GSDMD. GSDME knockdown switched the apoptin-induced cell death from pyroptosis to apoptosis in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the effect of apoptin on GSDME-dependent pyroptosis could be mitigated by caspase-3 and caspase-9 siRNA knockdown. Additionally, apoptin enhanced the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing aggregation of the mitochondrial membrane protein Tom20. Moreover, bax and cytochrome c were released to the activating caspase-9, eventually triggering pyroptosis. Therefore, GSDME mediates the apoptin-induced pyroptosis through the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Finally, using nude mice xenografted with HCT116 cells, we found that apoptin induces pyroptosis and significantly inhibits tumor growth. Based on this mechanism, apoptin may provide a new strategy for colorectal cancer therapy.     

Autophagy and inflammatory cell death, partners of innate immunity

By law in the evolutionary jungle, any host defense mechanism that efficiently kills microbes also exerts a strong selective pressure for tolerant variants to emerge. As a consequence, pathogens can be exploited as powerful tools to examine host defense mechanisms. Recent studies of the confrontation between macrophages and the opportunistic pathogen Legionella pneumophila have revealed a regulatory mechanism that may link autophagy to pyroptosis, a type of programmed cell death. Building from the extensive literature on autophagy, cell death, and innate immunity, we propose here a testable model in which the NOD-LRR protein Naip5 dictates whether murine macrophages elevate autophagy or pyroptosis as a barrier to infection.