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AIM2 Inflammasome Assembly and Signaling

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Structural Immunology

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1172))

Abstract

AIM2 (absent in melanoma 2) is a cytoplasmic sensor of double-stranded DNA from pathogens or damaged cellular organelles. It recruits ASC (apoptosis-associated specklike protein containing a CARD) and caspase-1 to form the AIM2 inflammasome, activate caspase-1, and elicit inflammatory responses via cytokine maturation and pyroptotic cell death. Structural studies from X-ray crystallography, NMR, and cryo-EM have revealed many details in AIM2 inflammasome activation, assembly, and regulation. Many principles learned from AIM2 inflammasome also apply to other inflammasomes. In this chapter, we discuss the interactions between dsDNA and AIM2-like receptors, between AIM2 and adaptor protein ASC, and between ASC and caspase-1 with the focus on helical filament assembly formed by PYD and CARD domains.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the US National Institutes of Health grant R00AI108793 and start-up funds from Florida State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    Bing Wang, Yuan Tian & Qian Yin

  2. Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    Qian Yin

Authors
  1. Bing Wang
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  2. Yuan Tian
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  3. Qian Yin
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yuan Tian or Qian Yin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China

    Tengchuan Jin

  2. Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Qian Yin

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Wang, B., Tian, Y., Yin, Q. (2019). AIM2 Inflammasome Assembly and Signaling. In: Jin, T., Yin, Q. (eds) Structural Immunology. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1172. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9367-9_7

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