Effects of AIM2 and IFI16 on Infectious Diseases and Inflammation.

Both absent in melanoma 2 ( AIM2 ) and interferon-inducible protein 16 ( IFI16 ) are intracellular innate immune receptors that recognize double-stranded DNA released during pathogenic infection, leading to the assembly of the inflammasome. The assembly of the inflammasome results in the secretion of bioactive interleukin (IL)-1 β and IL-18 and induces cell death through an inflammatory process called pyroptosis. Although the AIM2 inflammasome is generally harmful in the context of some aseptic inflammatory illnesses, it plays a protective role in infectious diseases. During inflammatory processes, there is competition between IFI16 and AIM2 . In this review, we explore the impacts of IFI16 and AIM2 in infectious disease and aseptic inflammation, respectively, and how they compete.