Noncanonical Inflammasomes: Caspase-11 Activation and Effector Mechanisms

Inflammasomes are cytosolic, multiprotein complexes assembled by members of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) and PYHIN protein families in response to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and danger signals, and serve as activation platforms for caspase-1. Recently, a new noncanonical inflammasome pathway has been described that activates caspase-11, an understudied pro-inflammatory caspase. Despite new insights into the signaling events that control caspase-11 activation, a number of unanswered questions remain.