Vectorology - GEG Tech top picks

Here the authors used a lentiviral vector which expresses pro-IL-1β as a C-terminal fluorescent Venus protein fusion to transform immortalised mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) and investigate  the mechanisms of IL-1β release from macrophags. They have discovered that the secretion of IL-1β after inflammasome activation requires membrane permeabilisation, and occurs in parallel with the death of the secreting cell. Thus, in macrophages the release of IL-1β in response to inflammasome activation appears to be a secretory process independent of nonspecific leakage of proteins during cell death. The mechanism of membrane permeabilisation leading to IL-1βrelease is distinct from the unconventional secretory mechanism employed by its structural homologues fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) or IL-1α, a process that involves the formation of membrane pores but does not result in cell death. These discoveries reveal key processes at the initiation of an inflammatory response and deliver new insights into the mechanisms of protein release.