Bacterial gasdermins reveal an ancient mechanism of cell death

Ancient origin of cell death Gasdermins are cell death proteins in mammals that form membrane pores in response to pathogen infection. Johnson et al . report that diverse bacteria encode structural and functional homologs of mammalian gasdermins. Like their mammalian counterparts, bacterial gasdermins are activated by caspase-like proteases, oligomerize into large membrane pores, and defend against pathogen—in this case, bacteriophage—infection. Proteolytic activation occurs through the release of a short inhibitory peptide, and many bacterial gasdermins are lipidated to facilitate membrane pore formation. Pyroptotic cell death, a central component of mammalian innate immunity, thus has a shared origin with an ancient antibacteriophage defense system. —SMH