Innate immunity
Does caspase-11 pyroptosis feed atherosclerosis?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Integrating GEO data, ox-LDL macrophages, and ApoE−/− mice, the authors show caspase-11/GSDMD pyroptosis inflames plaques; deleting caspase-11 or AAV-suppressing GSDMD shrinks lesions, and human caspase-4 mRNA tracks coronary severity.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — GEO transcriptomics + ox-LDL macrophages + ApoE−/− mice ± caspase-11 deletion or AAV-GSDMD knockdown; supportive CHD PBMC qPCR (n = 28)
- N
- N=28 · 28 coronary arteriography patients for PBMC caspase-4; ApoE−/− mice on 12-week HFHC diet plus macrophage cultures
- Population
- ApoE−/− mice, ox-LDL-treated peritoneal macrophages, and nonacute CHD patients’ PBMCs
- Outcome
- Caspase-11/GSDMD pyroptosis, plaque volume/macrophage infiltrate, and PBMC caspase-4 vs coronary severity
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Caspase-4/11–GSDMD signaling was activated. Human PBMC caspase-4 and GSDMD were upregulated and caspase-4 correlated with coronary severity/SYNTAX. Caspase-11 deletion or GSDMD AAV knockdown cut plaque volume and macrophage infiltration; macrophage inflammation was partly GSDMD-pyroptosis dependent.
Methodology
Mined GEO with hyperlipidemic-mouse and ox-LDL macrophage transcriptomes, measured caspase-4/GSDMD in PBMCs from 28 CHD patients, fed ApoE−/− mice HFHC for 12 weeks with caspase-11 deletion or AAV-GSDMD knockdown, and probed macrophage pyroptosis in vitro.
Limitations
Mouse HFHC atherosclerosis and n = 28 PBMCs do not prove that caspase-11 inhibitors treat human CAD; human data are associative mRNA, not a clinical outcomes trial.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Not yet placed on a claim. This paper has study layers, but no concept page yet cites it as support, challenge, or qualifier.
Related papers in this topic
Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.