a, Membrane docking by the β1-β2 loop, the most membrane-proximal feature of the prepore. The loop contains a hydrophobic anchor flanked by basic residues of BP2. The relative positions of BP1 and the anchor-BP2 region are displayed using an individual prepore subunit in two orientations. b, Pore-form GSDMD with the hydrophobic anchor and BP2 boxed in green and electrostatic surface shown locally. c, Locations and conservation of the three BPs in GSDMD, at α1, β1-β2 (excluding the hydrophobic tip), and β7-β8 regions, respectively. Continuous line: Conserved. Dashed line: Modestly conserved. d, e, Potential membrane distortion around GSDMD prepore (d) and pore (e). A subunit of each is enlarged to show the inferred local curvature. The contrasting curvatures indicate convexity-to-concavity membrane remodelling.