scholarly journals The NLRP3 Inflammasome as a Critical Actor in the Inflammaging Process

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1552
Author(s):  
Maria Sebastian-Valverde ◽  
Giulio M. Pasinetti

As a consequence of the considerable increase in the human lifespan over the last century, we are experiencing the appearance and impact of new age-related diseases. The causal relationships between aging and an enhanced susceptibility of suffering from a broad spectrum of diseases need to be better understood. However, one specific shared feature seems to be of capital relevance for most of these conditions: the low-grade chronic inflammatory state inherently associated with aging, i.e., inflammaging. Here, we review the molecular and cellular mechanisms that link aging and inflammaging, focusing on the role of the innate immunity and more concretely on the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, as well as how the chronic activation of this inflammasome has a detrimental effect on different age-related disorders.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Weifang Liu ◽  
Yanqi Zhong ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
Mengying Wu ◽  
...  

NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis is a crucial event in the preeclamptic pathogenesis, tightly linked with the uteroplacental TLR4/NF-κB signaling. Trophoblastic glycometabolism reprogramming has now been noticed in the preeclampsia pathogenesis, plausibly modulated by the TLR4/NF-κB signaling as well. Intriguingly, cellular pyroptosis and metabolic phenotypes may be inextricably linked and interacted. Metformin (MET), a widely accepted NF-κB signaling inhibitor, may have therapeutic potential in preeclampsia while the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we investigated the role of MET on trophoblastic pyroptosis and its relevant metabolism reprogramming. The safety of pharmacologic MET concentration to trophoblasts was verified at first, which had no adverse effects on trophoblastic viability. Pharmacological MET concentration suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome-induced pyroptosis partly through inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signaling in preeclamptic trophoblast models induced via low-dose lipopolysaccharide. Besides, MET corrected the glycometabolic reprogramming and oxidative stress partly via suppressing the TLR4/NF-κB signaling and blocking transcription factor NF-κB1 binding on the promoter PFKFB3, a potent glycolytic accelerator. Furthermore, PFKFB3 can also enhance the NF-κB signaling, reduce NLRP3 ubiquitination, and aggravate pyroptosis. However, MET suppressed pyroptosis partly via inhibiting PFKFB3 as well. These results provided that the TLR4/NF-κB/PFKFB3 pathway may be a novel link between metabolism reprogramming and NLRP3 inflammasome-induced pyroptosis in trophoblasts. Further, MET alleviates the NLRP3 inflammasome-induced pyroptosis, which partly relies on the regulation of TLR4/NF-κB/PFKFB3-dependent glycometabolism reprogramming and redox disorders. Hence, our results provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and propose MET as a potential therapy.


Author(s):  
Shuangyu Lv ◽  
Honggang Wang ◽  
Xiaotian Li

Autophagy is an important and conserved cellular pathway in which cells transmit cytoplasmic contents to lysosomes for degradation. It plays an important role in maintaining the balance of cell composition synthesis, decomposition and reuse, and participates in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome can induce the maturation and secretion of Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and IL-18 by activating caspase-1. It is involved in many diseases. In recent years, the interplay between autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome has been reported to contribute to many diseases including metabolic disorders related diseases. In this review, we summarized the recent studies on the interplay between autophagy and NLRP3 inflammasome in metabolic disorders to provide ideas for the relevant basic research in the future.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masafumi Takahashi

Abstract Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) is an intracellular innate immune receptor that recognizes a diverse range of stimuli derived from pathogens, damaged or dead cells, and irritants. NLRP3 activation causes the assembly of a large multiprotein complex termed the NLRP3 inflammasome, and leads to the secretion of bioactive interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 as well as the induction of inflammatory cell death termed pyroptosis. Accumulating evidence indicates that NLRP3 inflammasome plays a key role in the pathogenesis of sterile inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis and other vascular diseases. Indeed, the results of the Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study trial demonstrated that IL-1β-mediated inflammation plays an important role in atherothrombotic events and suggested that NLRP3 inflammasome is a key driver of atherosclerosis. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in vascular diseases, in particular in atherosclerosis, vascular injury, aortic aneurysm, and Kawasaki disease vasculitis, and discuss NLRP3 inflammasome as a therapeutic target for these disorders.


Author(s):  
Shuangyu Lv ◽  
Xiaotian Li ◽  
Honggang Wang

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important organelle for the protein synthesis, modification, folding, assembly, and the transport of new peptide chains. When the folding ability of ER proteins is impaired, the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in ER leads to endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, can induce the maturation and secretion of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and IL-18 through activating caspase-1. It is associated with many diseases. Studies have shown that ERS can regulate NLRP3 inflammasome in many diseases including diabetes. However, the mechanism of the effects of ERS on NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetes has not been fully understood. This review summarizes the recent researches about the effects of ERS on NLRP3 inflammasome and the related mechanism in diabetes to provide ideas for the relevant basic research in the future.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2974
Author(s):  
Irene Martínez de Toda ◽  
Noemi Ceprián ◽  
Estefanía Diaz-Del Cerro ◽  
Mónica De la Fuente

Aging is the result of the deterioration of the homeostatic systems (nervous, endocrine, and immune systems), which preserve the organism’s health. We propose that the age-related impairment of these systems is due to the establishment of a chronic oxidative stress situation that leads to low-grade chronic inflammation throughout the immune system’s activity. It is known that the immune system weakens with age, which increases morbidity and mortality. In this context, we describe how the function of immune cells can be used as an indicator of the rate of aging of an individual. In addition to this passive role as a marker, we describe how the immune system can work as a driver of aging by amplifying the oxidative-inflammatory stress associated with aging (oxi-inflamm-aging) and inducing senescence in far tissue cells. Further supporting our theory, we discuss how certain lifestyle conditions (such as social environment, nutrition, or exercise) can have an impact on longevity by affecting the oxidative and inflammatory state of immune cells, regulating immunosenescence and its contribution to oxi-inflamm-aging.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8145
Author(s):  
Kohei Wagatsuma ◽  
Hiroshi Nakase

The inflammasome is an intracellular molecular complex, which is mainly involved in innate immunity. Inflammasomes are formed in response to danger signals, associated with infection and injury, and mainly regulate the secretion of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18. Inflammasome dysregulation is known to be associated with various diseases and conditions, and its regulatory mechanisms have become of great interest in recent years. In the colon, inflammasomes have been reported to be associated with autophagy and the microbiota, and their dysregulation contributes to colitis and. However, the detailed role of inflammasomes in inflammatory bowel disease is still under debate because the mechanisms that regulate the inflammasome are complex and the inflammasome components and cytokines show seemingly contradictory multiple effects. Herein, we comprehensively review the literature on inflammasome functioning in the colon and describe the complex interactions of the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome components with inflammatory cytokines, autophagy, and the microbiota in experimental colitis models and patients with inflammatory bowel disease.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 734
Author(s):  
Pietro Antonuccio ◽  
Herbert Ryan Marini ◽  
Antonio Micali ◽  
Carmelo Romeo ◽  
Roberta Granese ◽  
...  

Varicocele is an age-related disease with no current medical treatments positively impacting infertility. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression is present in normal testis with an involvement in the immunological reactions. The role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), a nuclear receptor, in fertility is still unclear. N-Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an emerging nutraceutical compound present in plants and animal foods, is an endogenous PPAR-α agonist with well-demonstrated anti-inflammatory and analgesics characteristics. In this model of mice varicocele, PPAR-α and TLR4 receptors’ roles were investigated through the administration of ultra-micronized PEA (PEA-um). Male wild-type (WT), PPAR-α knockout (KO), and TLR4 KO mice were used. A group underwent sham operation and administration of vehicle or PEA-um (10 mg/kg i.p.) for 21 days. Another group (WT, PPAR-α KO, and TLR4 KO) underwent surgical varicocele and was treated with vehicle or PEA-um (10 mg/kg i.p.) for 21 days. At the end of treatments, all animals were euthanized. Both operated and contralateral testes were processed for histological and morphometric assessment, for PPAR-α, TLR4, occludin, and claudin-11 immunohistochemistry and for PPAR-α, TLR4, transforming growth factor-beta3 (TGF-β3), phospho-extracellular signal-Regulated-Kinase (p-ERK) 1/2, and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) Western blot analysis. Collectively, our data showed that administration of PEA-um revealed a key role of PPAR-α and TLR4 in varicocele pathophysiology, unmasking new nutraceutical therapeutic targets for future varicocele research and supporting surgical management of male infertility.


2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (33) ◽  
pp. 1318-1327
Author(s):  
Tamás Halmos ◽  
Ilona Suba

Összefoglaló. Az emberek a lehető leghosszabb ideig akarnak élni, jó egészségben. Ha kiküszöbölnénk a kedvezőtlen külső körülményeket, a várható élettartam meghaladhatná a 100 évet. A 20. és 21. században a jóléti társadalmakban a várható élettartam jelentősen megnőtt, így Magyarországon is. Az áttekintett irodalom alapján megvizsgáltuk, hogy a genetika és az öröklődés mellett milyen endokrinológiai és metabolikus tényezők játszanak szerepet az élet meghosszabbításában. Megvizsgáltunk minden endogén tényezőt, amely pozitívan vagy negatívan befolyásolhatja az életkorral összefüggő betegségeket (Alzheimer-kór, szív- és érrendszeri betegségek, rák) és az élettartamot. Kiemeltük a hyperinsulinaemia, az inzulinrezisztencia, a metabolikus szindróma öregedést gyorsító hatását, az inzulinszerű növekedési hormon-1 ellentmondásos szerepét, valamint az élet meghosszabbításában részt vevő, újabban felfedezett peptideket, mint a klotho és a humanin. Ismertettük a mitochondriumok szerepét az élettartam meghatározásában, bemutattuk a mitohormesis folyamatát és annak stresszvédő funkcióját. Bemutattuk a rapamicin célszervét, az mTOR-t, amelynek gátlása meghosszabbítja az élettartamot, valamint a szirtuinokat. Kitértünk az autophagia folyamatára, és ismertettük a szenolitikumok szerepét az öregedésben. Az időskori autoimmunitás csökkenése hozzájárul az élettartam rövidüléséhez, utaltunk a thymus koordináló szerepére. Kiemeltük a bélmikrobiom fontos szerepét az élettartam szabályozásában. Hivatkoztunk a „centenáriusok” megfigyeléséből nyert humánadatokra. Megvizsgáltuk, milyen beavatkozási lehetőségek állnak rendelkezésre az egészségben tölthető élettartam meghosszabbításához. Az életmódbeli lehetőségek közül kiemeltük a kalóriabevitel-csökkentés és a testmozgás jótékony szerepét. Megvizsgáltuk egyes gyógyszerek feltételezett hatásait. Ezek közé tartozik a metformin, az akarbóz, a rezveratrol. E gyógyszerek mindegyikének hatása hasonló a kalóriamegszorításéhoz. Nincs olyan „csodaszer”, amely igazoltan meghosszabbítja az élettartamot emberben. Egyes géneknek és génmutációknak jótékony hatásuk van, de ezt környezeti tényezők, betegségek, balesetek és más külső ártalmak módosíthatják. Kiemeljük az elhízás, az alacsony fokozatú gyulladás és az inzulinrezisztencia öregedésre gyakorolt gyorsító hatását. A metabolikus szindróma elterjedtsége miatt ez jelentős népegészségügyi kockázatot jelent. Az inzulin, a növekedési hormon és az inzulinszerű növekedési faktorok hatásainak értékelése továbbra is ellentmondásos. Az egészséges, szellemileg és fizikailag aktív életmód, a kalóriacsökkentés mindenképpen előnyös. Az életet meghosszabbító szerek értékelése még vitatott. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(33): 1318–1327. Summary. People want to live as long as possible in good health. If we eliminate the unfavorable external conditions, the life expectancy could exceed 100 years. In the 20th and 21th centuries, life expectancy in welfare societies increased significantly, including in Hungary. Based on the reviewed literature, we examined what endocrinological and metabolic factors play a role in prolonging life in addition to genetics and inheritance. We examined all endogenous factors that can positively or negatively affect age-related diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer) and longevity. We highlighted the aging effects of hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, the controversial role of insulin-like growth factor-1, and more recently discovered peptides involved in prolonging lifespan, such as klotho and humanin. We described the role of mitochondria in determining longevity, we demonstrated the process of mitohormesis and its stress-protective function. We presented the target organ of rapamycin, mTOR, the inhibition of which prolongs lifespan, as well as sirtuins. We covered the process of autophagy and described the role of senolytics in aging. The decrease in autoimmunity in old age contributes to the shortening of life expectancy, we referred to the coordinating role of the thymus. We highlighted the important role of intestinal microbiome in the regulation of longevity. We referred to human data obtained from observations on “centenarians”. We examined what intervention options are available to prolong healthy life expectancy. Among the lifestyle options, we highlighted the beneficial role of calorie reduction and exercise. We examined the putative beneficial effects of some drugs. These include metformin, acarbose, resveratrol. The effect of each of these drugs is similar to calorie restriction. There is no “miracle cure” that has been shown to prolong life-span in humans. Some genes and gene mutations have beneficial effects, but this can be modified by environmental factors, diseases, accidents, and other external harms. We highlight the accelerating effects of obesity, low-grade inflammation, and insulin resistance on aging. Due to the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, this poses a significant risk to public health. The assessment of the effects of insulin, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factors remains controversial. A healthy, mentally and physically active lifestyle, calorie reduction is definitely beneficial. The evaluation of life-prolonging agents is still controversial. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(33): 1318–1327.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Davezac ◽  
Melissa Buscato ◽  
Rana Zahreddine ◽  
Patrick Lacolley ◽  
Daniel Henrion ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular diseases remain an age-related pathology in both men and women. These pathologies are 3-fold more frequent in men than in women before menopause, although this difference progressively decreases after menopause. The vasculoprotective role of estrogens are well established before menopause, but the consequences of their abrupt decline on the cardiovascular risk at menopause remain debated. In this review, we will attempt to summarize the main clinical and experimental studies reporting the protective effects of estrogens against cardiovascular diseases, with a particular focus on atherosclerosis, and the impact of aging and estrogen deprivation on their endothelial actions. The arterial actions of estrogens, but also part of that of androgens through their aromatization into estrogens, are mediated by the estrogen receptor (ER)α and ERβ. ERs belong to the nuclear receptor family and act by transcriptional regulation in the nucleus, but also exert non-genomic/extranuclear actions. Beside the decline of estrogens at menopause, abnormalities in the expression and/or function of ERs in the tissues, and particularly in arteries, could contribute to the failure of classic estrogens to protect arteries during aging. Finally, we will discuss how recent insights in the mechanisms of action of ERα could contribute to optimize the hormonal treatment of the menopause.


2012 ◽  
Vol 237 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megumi Inoue ◽  
Koro Gotoh ◽  
Masataka Seike ◽  
Takayuki Masaki ◽  
Koichi Honda ◽  
...  

Obesity is considered a systemic low-grade inflammatory state. Although the spleen is the main immune organ with a close anatomical relationship with the liver, its role in the progression of fatty liver disease remains uncertain. Therefore, we sought to clarify the functional role of the spleen in the development of steatohepatitis in high-fat (HF)-diet-induced obese rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed HF food and divided into two groups, a splenectomy (SPX) group and a sham-operation (Sham) group. The liver and abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) were removed one and six months after surgery, and we evaluated the effects of SPX on WAT and HF-induced fatty liver. SPX rats exhibited worse dyslipidemia and inflammatory changes in WAT one month after surgery. Hepatic steatosis and inflammation were accelerated by SPX, based on the time after surgery. At one month after surgery, the tissue triglyceride content increased in SPX rats, compared with Sham controls ( P < 0.05). The liver histology also showed a worsening of steatosis in those rats. At six months after SPX, dramatic inflammatory and fibrotic changes were observed in liver tissue sections. Hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 was suppressed at one and six months after SPX ( P < 0.05 for each). WAT and liver tissue levels of inflammatory markers such as tumor necrosis factor- α, and the expression of Kupffer cells were all increased at six months in SPX rats, compared with Sham controls ( P < 0.05 for each). Our results indicate that the preservation of the spleen contributes to the prevention of the progression of hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis in obese rats.


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