Fig. 2.

Cell death and innate immunity are intimately linked. ASC induction by p53 is capable of inducing Bax dependent apoptosis, hence leading to the formation of the apoptosome along with formation of the inflammasome. Similarities in the diagrammatic representation of the inflammasome and apoptosome are suggestive of the structural similarities between both molecular complexes. Indications of the BH3-only proteins (Bim, Puma, and Noxa) p53 mediated transcriptional control and possible interactions with Bax (depicted by the dashed arrow) highlight weaknesses in the ASC/Bax interaction pathway (see text). Bcl-2 plays a direct role in the inhibition of Bak/Bax activation and inflammasome formation by Nalp1. Findings regarding the innate and apoptotic inhibitory effect of vBcl-2s raise the question of whether these proteins may also be able to inhibit the inflammasome cascade. Black lines indicate the cellular apoptotic pathway, red lines indicate viral inhibition, and dashed lines indicate discrepancies or possibilities raised in the text. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)