NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Inhibitors in Inflammation-Associated Cancer Immunotherapy: An Update on the Recent Patents

Background: Inflammasomes are recognized as key regulators in innate immunity from the pathogenic to endogenous danger signals. Although controlled activation of inflammasome is highly beneficial, dysregulation of inflammasome activation plays central role in various autoimmune, inflammatory disorders and aid in promoting various forms of cancers in humans such as breast cancer, fibrosarcoma, gastric carcinoma, and lung metastasis. NLRP3 inflammasome activation has been emerged as a topic of interest and is under profound investigation for its involvement in multiple forms of cancers. Objective: This review emphasizes an overview of the recent patents on NLRP3 inflammasome activation inhibitors with their relevant biological/pharmacological properties for the prevention and treatment of inflammation-associated cancer disorders. Methods: Data were obtained from online patent searchers such as World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO®), Free Patent Online (FPO), Espacenet® and Google Patents. Results: Several NLRP3 inflammasome activation inhibitors were recently patented from naturally derived and synthetic agents mainly by academic researchers. Most of the claimed patents have been validated and confined to cell lines and animal models limiting their entry into clinical settings. Conclusion: The vigorous effort to discover and develop agents to specifically inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation, may pave the way to therapeutic intervention targeting inflammasome-regulated pathways that are involved in the pathogenesis of various forms of cancer. Keywords: Caspase, colitis, inflammasome, interleukin, MCC950, melanoma, sulphonyl urea.