We next explored the mechanistic bases of TXNIP-mediated cell death by turning our attention to the NLRP3 inflammasome. The NLRP3 inflammasome is a multi-protein complex that senses endogenous “danger” signals—also called damage associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs)—and leads to maturation and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-1 β (IL-1β) (Strowig et al., 2012). TXNIP was recently discovered to bind and activate the NLRP3 inflammasome, and murine Txnip−/− islets are resistant to glucose-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β secretion (Zhou et al., 2010).
