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PMID: 24474192 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

Inflammasomes in cancer: a double-edged sword.

Protein & cell ·Vol. 5 ·No. 1 ·2014-01-00 ·Pages 12-20

Kolb R, Liu GH, Janowski AM, Sutterwala FS, Zhang W

Abstract

Chronic inflammatory responses have long been observed to be associated with various types of cancer and play decisive roles at different stages of cancer development. Inflammasomes, which are potent inducers of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 during inflammation, are large protein complexes typically consisting of a Nod-like receptor (NLR), the adapter protein ASC, and Caspase-1. During malignant transformation or cancer therapy, the inflammasomes are postulated to become activated in response to danger signals arising from the tumors or from therapy-induced damage to the tumor or healthy tissue. The activation of inflammasomes plays diverse and sometimes contrasting roles in cancer promotion and therapy depending on the specific context. Here we summarize the role of different inflammasome complexes in cancer progression and therapy. Inflammasome components and pathways may provide novel targets to treat certain types of cancer; however, using such agents should be cautiously evaluated due to the complex roles that inflammasomes and pro-inflammatory cytokines play in immunity.

MeSH Terms
Animals Carcinoma/immunology,pathology,therapy Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/immunology,pathology,therapy Humans Inflammasomes/metabolism Melanoma/immunology,pathology,therapy Neoplasms/immunology,pathology,therapy Skin Neoplasms/immunology,pathology,therapy
Chemicals
Inflammasomes
Authors & Affiliations
5 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Kolb Ryan
Department of Pathology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
Liu Guang-Hui
Janowski Ann M
Sutterwala Fayyaz S
Zhang Weizhou
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Article Info
Journal
Protein & cell
Abbr.
Protein Cell
ISSN
1674-8018
DOI
10.1007/s13238-013-0001-4
Published
2014-01-00
Epub
2014-00-29
Pages
12-20
Language
English
Region
Germany
NLM ID
101532368
PMCID
PMC3938856
Subset
IM
Grants
NCI NIH HHS · K99/R00 CA158055 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · K99 CA158055 · United States
NCI NIH HHS · R00 CA158055 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · T32 AI007485 · United States
NIEHS NIH HHS · P30 ES005605 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · R01 AI087630 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/s13238-013-0001-4 PMC Full Text View journal details
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