The inflammasome was first described in 2002 as a molecular complex activating proinflammatory caspases and therefore regulating the maturation and biological activities of cytokines such as IL-1 and IL-18. This finding was substantiated by the identification of several mutations in the cias1 gene, encoding the human NLRP3 protein, responsible for several autoinflammatory disorders such as the Muckle Wells syndrome. Since, the interest for this complex has constantly increased and several inflammasome complexes with different specificities have been described. These inflammasomes sense a wide variety of pathogens and danger signals and are key players in the inflammatory response. With the contributions of leading international experts in the field, this book provides an extensive overview of the current knowledge of inflammasome biology and their role in health and disease.

Molecular Definition of Inflammasomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Virginie Pe´trilli and Fabio Martinon
Pyroptosis: A Caspase-1-Dependent Programmed Cell Death
and a Barrier to Infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Katherine Labbe´ and Maya Saleh
Activation of the Inflammasome by Bacterial Pathogens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Tyler K. Ulland and Fayyaz S. Sutterwala
The Role of Inflammasomes in Viral Infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Christopher R. Lupfer and Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti
Inflammasome Activation in Response to Eukaryotic Pathogens . . . . . . . . . 65
Olaf Gross, Christina J. Thomas, and Laura E. Layland
Inflammasome Activation by Pathogenic Crystals and Particles . . . . . . . . . . 85
Fabio Re
Inflammasome Activation by Danger Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Pablo Pelegrı´n
Toll-Like Receptors and Inflammasomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Frank L. van de Veerdonk and Mihai G. Netea
Inflammasome in the Skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Olivier Gaide
Cancer, Inflammasomes, and Adjuvanticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Lionel Apetoh
Inflammasome and Lung Pathologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Bernhard Ryffel, Dieudonne´e Togbe, and Isabelle Couillin
Mechanisms of NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in CAPS Patients . . . . 183
Marco Gattorno and Anna Rubartelli
Activation and Regulation of the NLRP3 Inflammasome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Juan-Carlos Hernandez, Cherilyn M. Sirois, and Eicke Latz
Treatment of Inflammasome-Related Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Helen J. Lachmann
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221