Human NLRP1 is a sensor for double-stranded RNA

Metabolic regulators of enigmatic inflammasomes in autoimmune diseases and crosstalk with innate immune receptors

Nucleotide‐binding domain and leucine‐rich repeat receptor (NLR)‐mediated inflammasome activation is important in host response to microbes, danger‐associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and metabolic disease. Some NLRs have been shown to interact with distinct cell metabolic pathways and cause negative regulation, tumorigenesis and autoimmune disorders, interacting with multiple innate immune receptors to modulate disease. NLR activation is therefore crucial in host response and in the regulation of metabolic pathways that can trigger a wide range of immunometabolic diseases or syndromes. However, the exact mode by which some of the less well‐studied NLR inflammasomes are activated, interact with other metabolites and immune receptors, and the role they play in the progression of metabolic diseases is still not fully elucidated. In this study, we review up‐to‐date evidence regarding NLR function in metabolic pathways and the interplay with other immune receptors involved in GPCR signalling, gut microbiota and the complement system, in order to gain a better understanding of its link to disease processes.

Necroptosis, pyroptosis and apoptosis: an intricate game of cell death

Cell death is a fundamental physiological process in all living organisms. Its roles extend from embryonic development, organ maintenance, and aging to the coordination of immune responses and autoimmunity. In recent years, our understanding of the mechanisms orchestrating cellular death and its consequences on immunity and homeostasis has increased substantially. Different modalities of what has become known as 'programmed cell death' have been described, and some key players in these processes have been identified. We have learned more about the intricacies that fine tune the activity of common players and ultimately shape the different types of cell death. These studies have highlighted the complex mechanisms tipping the balance between different cell fates. Here, we summarize the latest discoveries in the three most well understood modalities of cell death, namely, apoptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis, highlighting common and unique pathways and their effect on the surrounding cells and the organism as a whole.

Tricks and threats of RNA viruses - towards understanding the fate of viral RNA

Human innate cellular defence pathways have evolved to sense and eliminate pathogens, of which, viruses are considered one of the most dangerous. Their relatively simple structure makes the identification of viral invasion a difficult task for cells. In the course of evolution, viral nucleic acids have become one of the strongest and most reliable early identifiers of infection. When considering RNA virus recognition, RNA sensing is the central mechanism in human innate immunity, and effectiveness of this sensing is crucial for triggering an appropriate antiviral response. Although human cells are armed with a variety of highly specialized receptors designed to respond only to pathogenic viral RNA, RNA viruses have developed an array of mechanisms to avoid being recognized by human interferon-mediated cellular defence systems. The repertoire of viral evasion strategies is extremely wide, ranging from masking pathogenic RNA through end modification, to utilizing sophisticated techniques to deceive host cellular RNA degrading enzymes, and hijacking the most basic metabolic pathways in host cells. In this review, we aim to dissect human RNA sensing mechanisms crucial for antiviral immune defences, as well as the strategies adopted by RNA viruses to avoid detection and degradation by host cells. We believe that understanding the fate of viral RNA upon infection, and detailing the molecular mechanisms behind virus-host interactions, may be helpful for developing more effective antiviral strategies; which are urgently needed to prevent the far-reaching consequences of widespread, highly pathogenic viral infections.

Nod-Like Receptors in Host Defence and Disease at the Epidermal Barrier

The nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing family (NLRs) (sometimes called the NOD-like receptors, though the family contains few bona fide receptors) are a superfamily of multidomain-containing proteins that detect cellular stress and microbial infection. They constitute a critical arm of the innate immune response, though their functions are not restricted to pathogen recognition and members engage in controlling inflammasome activation, antigen-presentation, transcriptional regulation, cell death and also embryogenesis. NLRs are found from basal metazoans to plants, to zebrafish, mice and humans though functions of individual members can vary from species to species. NLRs also display highly wide-ranging tissue expression. Here, we discuss the importance of NLRs to the immune response at the epidermal barrier and summarise the known role of individual family members in the pathogenesis of skin disease.

CARD8 is an inflammasome sensor for HIV-1 protease activity

HIV-1 has high mutation rates and exists as mutant swarms within the host. Rapid evolution of HIV-1 allows the virus to outpace the host immune system, leading to viral persistence. Approaches to targeting immutable components are needed to clear HIV-1 infection. Here, we report that the caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 8 (CARD8) inflammasome senses HIV-1 protease activity. HIV-1 can evade CARD8 sensing because its protease remains inactive in infected cells before viral budding. Premature intracellular activation of the viral protease triggered CARD8 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis of HIV-1-infected cells. This strategy led to the clearance of latent HIV-1 in patient CD4+ T cells after viral reactivation. Thus, our study identifies CARD8 as an inflammasome sensor of HIV-1, which holds promise as a strategy for the clearance of persistent HIV-1 infection.

Diverse viral proteases activate the NLRP1 inflammasome

The NLRP1 inflammasome is a multiprotein complex that is a potent activator of inflammation. Mouse NLRP1B can be activated through proteolytic cleavage by the bacterial Lethal Toxin (LeTx) protease, resulting in degradation of the N-terminal domains of NLRP1B and liberation of the bioactive C-terminal domain, which includes the caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD). However, natural pathogen-derived effectors that can activate human NLRP1 have remained unknown. Here, we use an evolutionary model to identify several proteases from diverse picornaviruses that cleave human NLRP1 within a rapidly evolving region of the protein, leading to host-specific and virus-specific activation of the NLRP1 inflammasome. Our work demonstrates that NLRP1 acts as a 'tripwire' to recognize the enzymatic function of a wide range of viral proteases and suggests that host mimicry of viral polyprotein cleavage sites can be an evolutionary strategy to activate a robust inflammatory immune response.

The immune system recognizes disease-causing microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, and removes them from the body before they can cause harm. When the immune system first detects these foreign invaders, a multi-part structure known as the inflammasome launches an inflammatory response to help fight the microbes off. Several sensor proteins can activate the inflammasome, including one in mice called NLRP1B. This protein has evolved a specialized site that can be cut by a bacterial toxin. Once cleaved, this region acts like a biological tripwire and sparks NLRP1B into action, allowing the sensor to activate the inflammasome system.

Humans have a similar protein called NLRP1, but it is unclear whether this protein has also evolved a tripwire region that can sense microbial proteins. To answer this question, Tsu, Beierschmitt et al. set out to find whether NLRP1 can be activated by viruses in the Picornaviridae family, which are responsible for diseases like polio, hepatitis A, and the common cold. This revealed that NLRP1 contains a cleavage site for enzymes produced by some, but not all, of the viruses in the picornavirus family. Further experiments confirmed that when a picornavirus enzyme cuts through this region during a viral infection, it triggers NLRP1 to activate the inflammasome and initiate an immune response.

The enzymes from different viruses were also found to cleave human NLRP1 at different sites, and the protein’s susceptibility to cleavage varied between different animal species. For instance, Tsu, Beierschmitt et al. discovered that NLRP1B in mice is also able to sense picornaviruses, and that different enzymes activate and cleave NLRP1B and NLRP1 to varying degrees: this affected how well the two proteins are expected to be able to sense specific viral infections. This variation suggests that there is an ongoing evolutionary arms-race between viral proteins and the immune system: as viral proteins change and new ones emerge, NLRP1 rapidly evolves new tripwire sites that allow it to sense the infection and launch an inflammatory response.

What happens when NLRP1B activates the inflammasome during a viral infection is still an open question. The discovery that mouse NLRP1B shares features with human NLRP1 could allow the development of animal models to study the role of the tripwire in antiviral defenses and the overactive inflammation associated with some viral infections. Understanding the types of viruses that activate the NLRP1 inflammasome, and the outcomes of the resulting immune response, may have implications for future treatments of viral infections.