NLRP3 Inflammasome: A New Target in Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Inflammatory proteins by the innate immune system contribute to the body's responses to external and internal threats. One of these inflammatory proteins is the nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich-repeat-containing receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3). The NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated by a wide range of stimuli. It helps the host's immunological responses to microbial infection and cellular damage but causes unresolved inflammatory reactions in case of persistence or excess of the inflammasome. Its most important feature is controlling the maturation of Interleukin 1 beta and Interleukin-18 cytokines. In many psychiatric disorders, high levels of IL-1 and IL-18 indicate the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. In this review, NLRP3 inflammasome, which is a valuable diagnostic marker in various mental disorders including depression, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, memory and attention disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and autism spectrum disorders were described.

Cite this article as: Celik S, Kayaaltı A, Erbaş O. NLRP3 Inflammasome: A New Target in Psychiatric Disorders. JEB Med Sci 2021;2(3):392-398.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.