Psychosocial stress amplifies inflammation through NLRP3 Inflammasome activated by endoplasmic reticulum stress in the mouse heart

Psychosocial stress (PSS) affects all humans with different intensities and is known to significantly increase inflammation and cardiovascular disease [1,2]. An amplifier of inflammation is an intracellular multiprotein complex, the inflammasome, activation of which leads to pro-inflammatory cytokines production. However, the mechanisms leading to the inflammasome activation in the heart by PSS are not well understood. Here, we identify critical upstream mechanisms leading to NLRP3 inflammasome activation via endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and JAK/STAT pathway. These findings reveal important mechanistic insights into possible upstream targets in controlling excessive inflammation due to PSS.