Regulation and sensing of inflammasomes and their impact on intestinal health

Pattern recognition receptors such as nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain(NOD)-containing protein receptors (NLRs) and the pyrin and hematopoitic interferon-induciblenuclear protein (HIN) domain (PYHIN) receptors initiate the inflammatory response followingcell stress or pathogenic challenge. When activated, some of these receptors oligomerize to formthe structural backbone of a signalling platform known as an inflammasome. Inflammasomes promotethe activation of caspase-1 and the maturation of the proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-1βand IL-18. The gut dysregulation of the inflammasome complex is thought to be a contributingfactor in the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis (UC)and Crohn’s disease (CD). The importance of inflammasomes to intestinal health has been emphasizedby various inflammasome-deficient mice in dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) models of intestinalinflammation and by the identification of novel potential candidate genes in population-basedhuman studies. In this review, we summarise the most recent findings with regard to the formation,sensing, and regulation of the inflammasome complex and highlight their importance in maintainingintestinal health