Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To study the role of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor proteins 1 and 3 (NLRP1 and NLRP3) inflammasome signaling pathways in the immune mechanism of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children. METHODS: A total of 126 children with IBD were enrolled as the study group, including 32 children with Crohn's disease (CD) and 94 children with ulcerative colitis (UC). A total of 120 children who underwent colectomy were enrolled as the control group. The mRNA expression of NLRP1, NLRP3, Caspase-1, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was compared between groups. RESULTS: The study group had significantly higher mRNA expression of NLRP1, NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1β than the control group, and their mRNA expression levels tended to increase with the severity of CD or UC (P<0.05). In the children with UC or CD, the mRNA expression levels of NLRP1, NLRP3, Caspase-1, and IL-1β were positively correlated with serum IgM and IgG levels (P<0.05), and the mRNA expression levels of NLRP1 and NLRP3 were positively correlated with those of Caspase-1 and IL-1β (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The NLRP1 and NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathways may regulate the immune mechanism of IBD in children by upregulating the expression of Caspase-1 and IL-1β.