Gasdermins deliver a deadly punch to cancer

• 作者: Abhimanu Pandey Cheng Shen Si Ming Man
• 来源期刊: 细胞研究（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（6）
• 页码范围: 463-464
• 页数: 2页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

The pore-forming gasdermin proteins mediate a lyric and proinflammatory form of cell death called pyroptosis and have been linked to the host defense against infection.Two recent studies published in Nature revealed that induction of pyroptosis in tumor cells promotes anti-tumor activity, high-lighting gasdermins as potential new targets in cancer immunotherapy. Gasdermins are a family of pore-forming proteins expressed in immune and non-immune cells.Cells that have been infected by pathogens or exposed to danger-associated signals undergo pyroptosis mediated by gasdermins.In this process, inflammatory caspases, apoptotic caspases and serine proteases induce proteolytic cleavage of gasdermin proteins, releasing the active N-terminal fragment.1 The N-terminal cleavage product forms pores on the plasma membrane, which leads to pyroptosis and the release of intracellular contents, including pro-inflammatory cytokines.2,3 This terminal event removes infected or damaged cells and contributes to the killing and clearance of pathogens.