Inflammasome Regulation: Therapeutic Potential for Inflammatory Bowel Disease |
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Authors: | Qiuyun Xu Xiaorong Zhou Warren Strober Liming Mao |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Nantong University, 19 Qixiu Road, Nantong 226019, China; (Q.X.); (X.Z.);2.Mucosal Immunity Section, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;3.Basic Medical Research Center, School of Medicine, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China |
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Abstract: | Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes formed to regulate the maturation of pro-inflammatory caspases, in response to intracellular or extracellular stimulants. Accumulating studies showed that the inflammasomes are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), although their activation is not a decisive factor for the development of IBD. Inflammasomes and related cytokines play an important role in the maintenance of gut immune homeostasis, while its overactivation might induce excess immune responses and consequently cause tissue damage in the gut. Emerging studies provide evidence that some genetic abnormalities might induce enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and cause colitis. In these cases, the colonic inflammation can be ameliorated by blocking NLRP3 activation or its downstream cytokine IL-1β. A number of natural products were shown to play a role in preventing colon inflammation in various experimental colitis models. On the other hand, lack of inflammasome function also causes intestinal abnormalities. Thus, an appropriate regulation of inflammasomes might be a promising therapeutic strategy for IBD intervention. This review aims at summarizing the main findings in these studies and provide an outline for further studies that might contribute to our understanding of the role of inflammasomes in the pathogenesis and therapeutic treatment of IBD. |
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Keywords: | inflammasome inflammatory bowel disease NLRP3 NLRP6 Crohn’ s disease ulcerative colitis IL-1β natural product |
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