Inflammasome activation in response to dead cells and their metabolites

•Necrotic cell death induces inflammation with inflammasome activation.•Inflammasome activation precedes pyroptosis, which is also an inflammatory cell death.•Metabolites activate inflammasome via signal 1 and signal 2.•Sterile inflammatory processes of metabolic diseases are ascribed to vicious cycle of inflammasome activation and cell death induced inflammation.

Cell death cannot go unnoticed. It demands that the surrounding cells clear away the corpses in a manner appropriate to the type of cell death. Dying cells represent a threat to the body that should be eliminated by the host immune response. Inflammasome activation followed by IL-1alpha release and IL-1beta maturation is crucial for tackling pathological conditions, including infections, whereas inflammasome activation precedes inflammatory pyroptotic cell death. On the other hand, recent studies have shown that the inflammasome plays an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Here, we review current knowledge of the association between cell death, excess metabolites, and inflammasome activation as it relates to chronic inflammatory diseases.