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Reconciling protective and pathogenic roles of the NLRP3 inflammasome in leishmaniasis
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Reconciling protective and pathogenic roles of the NLRP3 inflammasome in leishmaniasis

Valerie Harrington and Prajwal Gurung
Immunological reviews, Vol.297(1), pp.53-66
09/01/2020
DOI: 10.1111/imr.12886
PMCID: PMC7643606
PMID: 32564424

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Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a global health problem that affects more than 2 billion people worldwide. Recent advances in research have demonstrated critical roles for cytoplasmic sensors and inflammasomes duringLeishmaniaspp. infection and pathogenesis. Specifically, several studies have focused on the role of nod-like receptor family, pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and inflammasome-associated cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-18 in leishmaniasis. Despite these studies, our understanding of the priming and activation events that lead to NLRP3 inflammasome activation duringLeishmaniaspp. infection is limited. Furthermore, whether NLRP3 plays a protective or pathogenic role duringLeishmaniaspp. infection is far from resolved, with some studies showing a protective role and others showing a pathogenic role. In this review, we performed a critical review of the literature to provide a current update on priming and activating signals required for NLRP3 inflammasome activation duringLeishmaniaspp. infection. Finally, we provide a thorough review of the literature to reconcile differences in the observed protective vs pathogenic roles of the NLRP3 inflammasome duringLeishmaniaspp. infection.
Immunology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology

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