Inflammasome activation in decompensated liver cirrhosis

Figure 1 Basic representation of inflammasome activation. Inflammasomes are formed after NLR or PYHIN family members recognize signals associated with tissue damage or infection. Receptors that have a CARD domain can recruit pro-caspase-1 directly (e.g., NLRC4), whereas those that contain a PYD domain (e.g., NLRP3 and AIM2) recruit pro-caspase-1 through the accessory protein ASC (which contains a PYD and a CARD). NLRP1 contains a CARD and can bypass the requirement for ASC, but also contains a PYD and its interaction with ASC enhances the activity of the NLRP1 inflammasome. CARD: Caspase-1 recruitment domain; PYD: Pyrin domain; ASC: Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD; LRR: Leucine rich repeat; HIN-200: Hematopoietic interferon-inducible nuclear antigen with 200 amino-acid repeat; PAMPs: Pathogen-associated molecular patterns; DAMPs: Damage-associated molecular patterns; AIM2: Absent in melanoma 2; dsDNA: Double-stranded DNA; IL: Interleukin; S. aureus: Staphylococcus aureus; L. monocytogenes: Listeria monocytogenes; C. albicans: Candida albicans; TLR: Toll-like receptor.