Journal Article Review Ahead of print 1 citation
PubMed: 42321117 DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2026.06.002
Metabolic regulatory nodes of the inflammasome and inflammatory cell death.
Trends Immunol
Authors: Ein Lee, Minh Quan Nguyen, Suyeong Im, Rajendra Karki
Affiliations
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; The Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics (IMBG), Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI), Kathmandu, Nepal.
Abstract
Inflammation is a metabolically intensive and tightly regulated process, driven primarily by innate immune cells. Cellular metabolism actively instructs immune signaling and cell fate decisions. Bioenergetic pathways, including glycolysis, mitochondrial respiration, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, reshape cytokine production and regulate inflammatory cell death pathways. In this review, we synthesize emerging evidence on how metabolic intermediates and pathways regulate inflammasome signaling and the execution of diverse inflammatory cell death modalities, including pyroptosis, necroptosis, PANoptosis, and ferroptosis. We propose that metabolic inputs-including redox balance, mitochondrial dynamics, and lipid modifications-constitute an interconnected metabolic regulatory network that determines the threshold and outcome of inflammatory signaling. This framework offers new insights into immunometabolic dysregulation and therapeutic strategies in inflammatory, infectious, and neoplastic diseases.
MeSH
Cells, Necroptosis, Inflammasomes, Ferroptosis, Immunity, Pyroptosis, Cell Death