Figure 3.

Essential molecules in pyroptosis. GSDMs, cleaved by several proteinases for activation, are the executioners of pyroptotic cell death. The important GSDMs inducing pyroptosis and their upstream proteinases are listed. GSDMB is cleaved by granzyme A into the active forms GSDMC by caspase-8; GSDMD by caspases -1 and -8; and GSDME by caspase-3 and granzyme B. Caspase-8 indirectly activates GSDME by cleaving caspase-3. Additionally, these proteinases have the potential to induce apoptosis when GSDMs are not expressed or weakly expressed.