Title: inflammasome
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - inflammasome
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.13333
Status: current

Definition
High-molecular-weight complex that activates inflammatory caspases and the cytokines interleukin-1$\ce{\upbeta\!}$ ($\ce{IL\mbox{-}1\upbeta\!}$) and IL-18.

Note
There appear to be at least three types of inflammasomes. Those identified initially were the NALP1 inflammasome, the NALP3 (cryopyrin) inflammasome, and the interleukin-(IL-)1β converting enzyme (ICE) protease-activating factor (IPAF) inflammasome.

Related Terms
- caspases: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12990
- cryopyrin: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13492
- cytokines: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13065
- interleukin: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13338

Source
- PAC, 2012, 84, 1113. 'IUPAC glossary of terms used in immunotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2012)' on page 1193 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-11-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13333/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13333/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/13333/xml

Citation: Citation: 'inflammasome' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.13333
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-11T01:25:50+00:00