Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Aug 27.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Immunol. 2023 Jun 5;24(7):1064–1075. doi: 10.1038/s41590-023-01526-w

Fig. 2 |. Assembly of the GSDMD pore can proceed along various paths.

Fig. 2 |

After proteolytic cleavage, NT-GSDMD monomers translocate and bind to the target membrane. NT-GSDMD monomers can then oligomerize into a membrane-associated ring-shaped pre-pore. Upon concerted insertion of the NT-GSDMD subunits into the membrane, the internal lipid plug will deform into a vesicle or bicelle, which leaves the now fully assembled transmembrane pore. Alternatively, individual NT-GSDMD subunits can insert into the membrane and assemble into smaller oligomers. Oligomers of two or more copies of NT-GSDMD will perforate the membrane and allow for ion fluxes. Smaller oligomers can assemble into arc-shaped pores, which may allow small proteins to traverse the membrane. Arc-shaped pores can collapse into smaller slit-shaped pores as a result of the line tension of the excluded lipid bilayer, or further grow and fuse into a full ring-shaped pore.