IKKβ binds NLRP3 providing a shortcut to inflammasome activation for rapid immune responses

Asare Y, Shnipova M, Živković L, Schlegl C, et al.

Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2022)

What we found

The textbook account of inflammasome activation is a two-step process: a first signal primes the cell, a second one triggers it. We found a shortcut. IKKβ, a kinase sitting in the middle of the NF-κB inflammatory pathway, binds NLRP3 directly, letting the inflammasome fire much faster than the priming-then-triggering model predicts. That matters because speed is the point of this part of the immune system — and because IKKβ is already a drug target, so the interaction is a handle for dialling the response down when it does more harm than good.

Published as a short-format research letter, which carries no separate abstract. The summary above describes the finding.

Topics

• IKKβ
• NLRP3
• Inflammasome priming
• NF-κB
• Innate immunity

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Cite

Asare Y, Shnipova M, Živković L, Schlegl C, et al. IKKβ binds NLRP3 providing a shortcut to inflammasome activation for rapid immune responses. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2022). doi.org/10.1038/s41392-022-01189-3