Abstract
Host defense requires the maturation and release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 and the induction of pyroptotic cell death, which depends on the activation of inflammatory Caspases within inflammasomes by innate immune cells. Several cytosolic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) have been implicated in this process in response to infectious and sterile agonists. Here we summarize the current knowledge on inflammasome-organizing PRRs, emphasizing the recently described NLRP7, and their implications in human disease.