Inflammasomes in the Pathophysiology of Kidney Diseases

Background: The inflammasome is a complex of proteins in the cytoplasm that consists of three main components: a sensor protein (receptor), an adapter protein and caspase-1. Inflammasomes are the critical components of innate immunity and have been gradually recognized as a critical mediator in various autoimmune diseases; also, their role in chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury has been gradually accepted. Summary: Inflammasomes triggered by infectious or sterile injuries transfer proinflammatory mediators into mature ones through innate danger-signaling platforms. Information on inflammasomes in kidney disease will help to uncover the underlying mechanisms of nephropathy and provide novel therapeutic targets in the future. Key Messages: The inflammasomes can be activated by a series of exogenous and endogenous stimuli, including pathogenand danger-associated molecular patterns released from or caused by damaged cells. The NACHT, LRR and PYD domaincontaining protein 3 (NLRP3) in the kidney exerts its effect not only by the ‘canonical’ pathway of IL-1β and IL-18 secretion but also by ‘noncanonical’ pathways, such as tumor growth factor-β signaling, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and fibrosis. In both clinical and experimental data, the Received: July 17, 2015 Accepted: July 17, 2015 Published online: September 4, 2015 Aihua Zhang Department of Nephrology, Nanjing Children’s Hospital Nanjing Medical University, 72 Guangzhou Road Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province (PR China) E-Mail zhaihua @ njmu.edu.cn © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel 2296–9381/15/0013–0187$39.50/0