Roles of inflammasomes in viral myocarditis

Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2023 May 15:13:1149911. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1149911. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Viral myocarditis (VMC), characterized by viral infection-induced inflammation, is a life-threatening disease associated with dilated cardiomyopathy or heart failure. Innate immunity plays a crucial role in the progression of inflammation, in which inflammasomes provide a platform for the secretion of cytokines and mediate pyroptosis. Inflammasomes are rising stars gaining increasing attention. The nucleotide oligomerization domain-, leucine-rich repeat-, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, the caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 8 (CARD8) inflammasome, and the caspase-11 inflammasome are three inflammasomes that were reported to affect the process and prognosis of VMC. These inflammasomes can be activated by a wide range of cellular events. Accumulating evidence has suggested that inflammasomes are involved in different stages of VMC, including the trigger and progression of myocardial injury and remodeling after infection. In this review, we summarized the pathways involving inflammasomes in VMC and discussed the potential therapies targeting inflammasomes and related pathways.

Keywords: cytokines; infection; inflammasome; interleukin-1β; viral myocarditis.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / metabolism
  • CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Inflammasomes / metabolism
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Myocarditis*
  • NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein / metabolism
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism
  • Virus Diseases*

Substances

  • Inflammasomes
  • NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
  • CARD8 protein, human
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 82170239 to KH; by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, grant number 2022CFB138 to HL; by the Scientific Research Foundation of Union Hospital to SY. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.