Vimentin is Required for LPS-Induced Inflammasome Activation and Lung Injury

Inflammation is required to properly restore homeostasis after an infectious or noxious insult, but when excessive or prolonged Rationale: it can be more damaging than the insult itself. The inflammasome is a multi-protein complex that regulates the maturation and release of proinflammatory cytokines of the interleukin 1 (IL-1) family, which is one of the earliest events upon perception of danger signals. Vimentin, a type III intermediate filament involved in motility, maintenance of cell shape and endurance of mechanical stress in cells of mesenchymal origin, has also been implicated in inflammatory responses. Therefore, we set to determine whether vimentin is required for the activation of the inflammasome and survival in a mouse model of LPS-induced lung injury.