The challenge of cell death switching in inflammasome-targeted therapies for bacterial and viral infections

Inflammasome activation and pyroptosis are central to innate immune responses and play either protective or detrimental roles in host defense. Inhibiting these processes holds significant therapeutic promise for diseases exacerbated by inflammasome activation. However, clinically targeting this pathway remains challenging, as blocking pyroptosis may trigger alternative cell death pathways. In this mini-review, we summarize bacterial and viral infections in which inflammasome activation and pyroptosis are detrimental to host defense, explore the mechanisms underlying cell death switching, and discuss how effectively blocking multiple cell death pathways and potential interconversions represents a key consideration for current intervention strategies. This review summarizes that pyroptosis is detrimental to host defense during bacterial and viral infections, explores the mechanisms underlying cell death switching, and discusses the effective blocking of multiple cell death pathways for intervention strategies.