Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Stimulates Effector-Driven Rapid Caspase-4 Activation in Human Macrophages (Cell Reports)

Goddard et al. show that enteropathogenic Escherichia coli triggers pyroptosis via caspase-4-mediated LPS sensing and actin polymerization driven by the effector Tir and its ligand intimin. The Tir-intimin signaling cascade stimulates mechanistically distinct rapid atypical macrophage pyroptosis and cytokine processing via the NLRP3-caspase-1 inflammasomes.