Bayonets over bombs: RIPK3 and MLKL restrict Listeria without triggering necroptosis.

RIPK3 induces necroptosis by phosphorylating MLKL, which then induces plasma membrane rupture and necrotic cell death. In this issue, Sai et al. (2019. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201810014) show that RIPK3-MLKL signaling in epithelial cells promotes Listeria clearance by directly suppressing cytosolic bacterial replication, without activating cell death.