Kim Samirah Robinson, Gee Ann Toh, Muhammad Jasrie Firdaus, Khek Chian Tham, Pritisha Rozario, Chrissie K Lim, Ying Xiu Toh, Zhi Heng Lau, Sophie Charlotte Binder, Jacob Mayer, Carine Bonnard, Florian I Schmidt, John E A Common, Franklin L Zhong
The ZAKα-driven ribotoxic stress response (RSR) is activated by ribosome stalling and/or collisions. Recent work demonstrates that RSR also plays a role in innate immunity by activating the human NLRP1 inflammasome. Here, we report that ZAKα and NLRP1 sense bacterial exotoxins that target ribosome elongation factors. One such toxin, diphtheria toxin (DT), the causative agent for human diphtheria, triggers RSR-dependent inflammasome activation in primary human keratinocytes. This process requires iron-mediated DT production in the bacteria, as well as diphthamide synthesis and ZAKα/p38-driven NLRP1 phosphorylation in host cells...
October 2, 2023: Journal of Experimental Medicine