Background: the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is a mitochondrial outer membrane protein, and its expression tends to increase in response to inflammatory stimulation, rapidly. However, the role of TSPO in inflammation and pyroptosis is not yet clear. Here, we identified TSPO as a novel key regulator of pyroptosis. (2) Methods: TSPO knockout and DSS induced mouse inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) models were employed to assess the roles of TSPO in the pathogenesis of IBD. Primary peritoneal macrophages from TSPO knockout mice were applied to evaluate the mechanism of TSPO in cell pyroptosis.
Conclusions: in response to inflammatory injury, TSPO expression is rapidly upregulated and provides a protective function against GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis, which helps us better understand the biological role of TSPO and a novel regulatory mechanism of the pyroptosis process.
Keywords: GSDMD; TSPO; inflammatory bowel disease; pyroptosis.