Pyroptosis

Pyroptosis is a highly inflammatory form of programmed cell death that occurs most frequently upon infection with intracellular pathogens and is likely to form part of the antimicrobial response. In this process, immune cells recognize foreign danger signals within themselves, release pro-inflammatory cytokines, swell, burst and die. The release cytokines attracts other immune cells to fight the infection and contributes to inflammation in the tissue. Pyroptosis promotes the rapid clearance of various bacterial and viral infections by removing intracellular replication niches and enhancing the host’s defensive responses. However, in pathogenic chronic diseases, the inflammatory response does not eradicate the primary stimulus, as would normally occur in most cases of infection or injury, and thus a chronic form of inflammation ensues that ultimately contributes to tissue damage. Some examples of pyroptosis include salmonella-infected macrophages and abortively HIV-infected T helper cells.