TGF-β1 modulates LPS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activity

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a multi-protein complex that, upon activation by a large range of stimuli, activates Caspase-1 that in turn mediates the maturation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18. In a previous study we have shown that LPS stimulation induces a clear time- and concentration-dependent induction of inflammasome-associated genes in the immortalized hepatic stellate cell line CFSC-2G [1]. Although there are actually many unclear and inconsistent data for TGF-β1, it was suggested that TGF-β expression is stimulated by the activity of the different inflammasome branches in hepatic stellate cells [2] and renal tubular epithelium [3].