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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Microbiol. 2019 Jun 20;52:70–76. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2019.05.005

Figure 1. Activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in response to pathogens, crystals and pore-forming molecules.

Figure 1.

NLRP3 is activated when pathogens or specific molecules (crystals, toxins, purinergic receptors, etc.) promote perturbation of the host cell membranes. Once activated NLRP3 oligomerizes and promotes the polymerization of ASC via Pyrin-Pyrin interaction. Polymerized ASC forms a long filament exposing multiple CARD domains. This filament can bind to other ASC filaments to form the ASC speck. This platform recruits pro-caspase-1 via CARD/CARD interaction to promote caspase-1 activation and cleavage.