Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33718825›Full record

ArticleiScience2021

SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and HIV-1 derived ssRNA sequences activate the NLRP3 inflammasome in human macrophages through a non-classical pathway.

Grant R Campbell, Rachel K To, Jonathan Hanna, Stephen A Spector

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
83citing papers in PubMed
8.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

83 citing papers in PubMed, 117 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Defective RNA Polymerase III sensing of mitochondrial DNA in pulmonary epithelial cells impairs type I IFN immunity to SARS-CoV-2.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Frontiers in immunology · 2026
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Targeting inflammasomes as a therapeutic potential for HIV/AIDS.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. SARS-CoV-2 biology and host interactions.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2024
    Review

23 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Grant R CampbellDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Rachel K ToDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Jonathan HannaDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Stephen A SpectorDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
University of California San Diego · US

Funding

LOC-IMPAACT Leadership GroupPharmacokinetics and Safety of Remdesivir for Treatment of COVID-19 in Pregnant Women in the USUM1AI068632 · NIAID · SOCIAL AND SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS, INC. · PI Sharon A Nachman · 2011 to 2026
$278.1M
Statistical and Data Management Center-Pediatric,Adolescent, and Maternal CTGUM1AI068616 · NIAID · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI Sean Scott Brummel, Marlene Ann Cooper · 2011 to 2026
$155.6M
LC - IMPAACT Leadership GroupUM1AI106716 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Grace M Aldrovandi · 2014 to 2026
$47.2M
Nanopeptide Targeting of HIV-CNS Reservoirs without ReactivationR01NS104015 · NINDS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI SPECTOR, STEPHEN A · 2017 to 2021
$2.9M
NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI068616NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI068632NIAID NIH HHS UM1 AI106716NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS104015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Macrophages promote an early host response to infection by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), TNF, and IL-6. The bioactivity of IL-1β is classically dependent on NLRP3 inflammasome activation, which culminates in caspase-1 activation and pyroptosis. Recent studies suggest a role for NLRP3 inflammasome activation in lung inflammation and fibrosis in both COVID-19 and SARS, and there is evidence of NLRP3 involvement in HIV-1 disease. Here, we show that GU-rich single-stranded RNA (GU-rich RNA) derived from SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, and HIV-1 trigger a TLR8-dependent pro-inflammatory cytokine response from human macrophages in the absence of pyroptosis, with GU-rich RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein triggering the greatest inflammatory response. Using genetic and pharmacological inhibition, we show that the induction of mature IL-1β is through a non-classical pathway dependent on caspase-1, caspase-8, the NLRP3 inflammasome, potassium efflux, and autophagy while being independent of TRIF (TICAM1), vitamin D3, and pyroptosis.

Indexed as

ImmunologyVirology

Identifiers

PMID33718825
PMCPMC7939994
OpenAlexW3133989519

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.