Anti-inflammatory compounds parthenolide and Bay 11-7082 are direct inhibitors of the inflammasome.

ABSTRACT: Activation of the inflammasome generates the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 beta and -18, which are important mediators of inflammation. Abnormal activation of the inflammasome leads to many inflammatory diseases, including gout, silicosis, neurodegeneration, and genetically inherited periodic fever syndromes. Therefore, identification of small molecule inhibitors that target the inflammasome is an important step toward developing effective therapeutics for the treatment of inflammation. Here, we show that the herbal NF-kappaB inhibitory compound parthenolide inhibits the activity of multiple inflammasomes in macrophages by directly inhibiting the protease activity of caspase-1. Additional investigations of other NF-kappaB inhibitors revealed that the synthetic I kappaB kinase-be

SUBMITTER: Juliana C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2843228 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature