Demon Dieter, Vande Walle Lieselotte, Lamkanfi Mohamed
Department of Medical Protein Research, VIB, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium.
Department of Medical Protein Research, VIB, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium; Department of Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, B-9000, Belgium.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2014 Dec;39(12):574-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2014.10.006. Epub 2014 Nov 4.
Caspase-11 contributes to host defense against Gram-negative bacterial pathogens by inducing an inflammatory form of programmed cell death in infected cells. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) have been identified as the microbial agents that stimulate caspase-11 activation; however, the mechanism of LPS detection has been unknown. In a recent study, Shao and colleagues demonstrate that caspase-11 and its human homologues, caspases -4 and -5, unexpectedly act as direct sensors of cytosolic LPS.