Let’s get this pyrin started!

Abstract

Inflammasomes enable cells to respond to pathogens or biological damage, but the specific signals being used to convey these messages are not always clear. A new paper identifies two potential microbiota-derived metabolites, the bile acid analogues BAA485 and BAA473, as the first small molecules to activate the pyrin inflammasome. These results suggest that microbiota may be able to modulate this inflammatory process which, in turn, may contribute to the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis.