The proinflammatory enzyme caspase-1 plays an important role in the innate immune system and is involved in a variety of inflammatory conditions. Rare naturally occurring human variants of the caspase-1 gene (CASP1) lead to different protein expression and structure and to decreased or absent enzymatic activity. Paradoxically, a significant number of patients with such variants suffer from febrile episodes despite decreased IL-1β production and secretion. In this study, we investigate how variant (pro)caspase-1 can possibly contribute to inflammation. In a transfection model, such variant procaspase-1 binds receptor interacting protein kinase 2 (RIP2) via Caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD)/CARD interaction and thereby activates NF-κB, whereas wild-type procaspase-1 reduces intracellular RIP2 levels by enzymatic cleavage and release into the supernatant. We approach the protein interactions by coimmunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy and show that NF-κB activation is inhibited by anti–RIP2-short hairpin RNA and by the expression of a RIP2 CARD-only protein. In conclusion, variant procaspase-1 binds RIP2 and thereby activates NF-κB. This pathway could possibly contribute to proinflammatory signaling.

Caspase-1 (Interleukin-1 Converting Enzyme, ICE) is a proinflammatory enzyme that plays pivotal roles in innate immunity and many inflammatory conditions such as periodic fever syndromes and gout. Inflammation is often mediated by enzymatic activation of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. We detected seven naturally occurring human CASP1 variants with different effects on protein structure, expression, and enzymatic activity. Most mutations destabilized the caspase-1 dimer interface as revealed by crystal structure analysis and homology modeling followed by molecular dynamics simulations. All variants demonstrated decreased or absent enzymatic and IL-1β releasing activity in vitro, in a cell transfection model, and as low as 25% of normal ex vivo in a whole blood assay of samples taken from subjects with variant CASP1, a subset of whom suffered from unclassified autoinflammation. We conclude that decreased enzymatic activity of caspase-1 is compatible with normal life and does not prevent moderate and severe autoinflammation.

Caspase-1 is a key player during the initiation of pro-inflammatory innate immune responses, activating pro-IL-1␤ in socalled inflammasomes. A subset of patients with recurrent febrile episodes and systemic inflammation of unknown origin harbor mutations in CASP1 encoding caspase-1. CASP1 variants result in reduced enzymatic activity of caspase-1 and impaired IL-1␤ secretion. The apparent paradox of reduced IL-1␤ secretion but systemic inflammation led to the hypothesis that CASP1 mutations may result in variable protein interaction clusters, thus activating alternative signaling pathways. To test this hypothesis, we established and characterized an in vitro system of transduced immortalized murine macrophages expressing either WT or enzymatically inactive (p.C284A) procaspase-1 fusion reporter proteins. Macrophages with variant p.C284A caspase-1 did not secrete IL-1␤ and exhibited reduced inflammatory cell death, referred to as pyroptosis. Caspase-1 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD (ASC) formed cytosolic macromolecular complexes (so-called pyroptosomes) that were significantly increased in number and size in cells carrying the p.C284A caspase-1 variant compared with WT caspase-1. Furthermore, enzymatically inactive caspase-1 interacted with ASC longer and with increased intensity compared with WT caspase-1. Applying live cell imaging, we documented for the first time that pyroptosomes containing enzymatically inactive variant p.C284A caspase-1 spread during cell division. In conclusion, variant p.C284A caspase-1 stabilizes pyroptosome formation, potentially enhancing inflammation by two IL-1␤-independent mechanisms: pyroptosomes convey an enhanced inflammatory stimulus through the recruitment of additional proteins (such as RIP2, receptor interacting protein kinase 2), which is further amplified through pyroptosome and cell division.Caspase-1 is a key player during innate immune responses. It aids to control pathogens and danger signals by triggering pyroptotic cell death. Together with caspase-11 and -12 in mice and caspase-4, -5, and -12 in humans, caspase-1 belongs to the family of inflammatory caspases, which are produced as inactive forms. After the detection of pathogens or cytoplasmic danger signals, inactive caspase-1 monomers recruit to multiprotein complexes referred to as inflammasomes (1-3). In such inflammasomes, inactive procaspases are autoprocessed into caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARDs), 2 the p10 and the p20 subunits (4). Two p10 and two p20 proteins subsequently form the active caspase-1 tetramer, which then cleaves and thereby activates IL-1␤ in the so-called canonical inflammasome pathway (5, 6). Furthermore, inflammatory caspases induce pro-inflammatory cell death, referred to as pyroptosis, which involves cell swelling, cell lysis, and the release of cytoplasmic contents (7,8). Pyroptosis depends on the activation of caspase-4, -5, or -11 and caspase-1 (9 -11). Caspase-1 or -11 cleaves gasdermin D, a gasdermin domain-containing protein, at amin...

No abstract

No abstract

Caspase-1 is a proinflammatory enzyme that is essential in many inflammatory conditions including infectious, autoimmune, and autoinflammatory disorders. The inflammation is mainly mediated by the generation of inflammasomes that activate caspase-1 and subsequently interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. In addition, homotypic CARD/CARD interaction of procaspase-1 with RIP2 and thereby activation of the NF-κB pathways may play some role in the inflammation. However, normally, this pathway seems to become downregulated rapidly by the cleavage and excretion of RIP2 by active (pro-)caspase-1. In patients with unexplained recurrent systemic inflammation, CASP1 variants were detected, which often destabilized the caspase-1 dimer interface. Obviously, the resulting decreased or abrogated enzymatic activity and IL-1β production did not prevent the febrile episodes. As an unexpected finding, the inactive procaspase-1 variants significantly enhanced proinflammatory signaling by increasing RIP2 mediated NF-κB activation in an in vitro cell transfection model. A likely reason is the failure of inactive procaspase-1 to cleave bound RIP2 and also to mediate its excretion out of the intracelluar space thereby keeping the RIP2-NF-κB pathway upregulated. Hence, proinflammatory effects of enzymatically inactive procaspase-1 variants may partially explain the inflammatory episodes of the patients.

No abstract

Inflammasomes are multiprotein complexes representing an activating platform for caspase-1. This enzyme processes the cytokines IL-1β, IL-18 and others into their bioactive variants leading to an inflammatory cascade. Mutations responsible for defects in inflammasome regulation cause severe autoinflammatory disorders.This review provides a short summary of new insights in the autoinflammatory field including the association of inflammasomes to diabetes, intestinal inflammation as well as psoriasis and communicates the ideas of two novel inflammasomes, recently discovered. Germline mutations in the extracellular domains of the 55 kDa TNF receptor, TNFR1, define a family of dominantly inherited autoinflammatory syndromes. Cell 1: 133-144. 44. Goldbach-Mansky R, Kastner DL (2009) Autoinflammation: the prominent role of IL-1 in monogenic autoinflammatory diseases and implications for common illnesses. J Allergy Clin Immunol 6: 1141-1149. 45. Richards N, Schaner P, Diaz A, Stuckey J, Shelden E, et al. (2001) Interaction between pyrin and the apoptotic speck protein (ASC) modulates ASC-induced apoptosis. J Biol Chem 42: 39320-39329. 46. Chae JJ, Komarow HD, Cheng J, Wood G, Raben N, et al. (2003) Targeted disruption of pyrin, the FMF protein, causes heightened sensitivity to endotoxin and a defect in macrophage apoptosis. Mol Cell 3: 591-604.