Gasdermin D (GSDMD) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GSDMD gene on chromosome 8. It belongs to the gasdermin family which is conserved among vertebrates and comprises six members in humans, GSDMA, GSDMB, GSDMC, GSDMD, GSDME (DFNA5) and DFNB59 (Pejvakin). Members of the gasdermin family are expressed in a variety of cell types including epithelial cells and immune cells. GSDMA, GSDMB, GSDMC, GSDMD and GSDME have been suggested to act as tumour suppressors. GSDMD can be cleaved to produce an N-terminal domain (GSDMD-N) and a C-terminal domain (GSDMD-C). GSDMD-N can oligomerize and form transmembrane pores that have an inner diameter of 10-14 nm. The pores allow secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 and various cytosolic content to extracellular space, and they also disrupt the cellular ionic gradient. The resulting increase in osmotic pressure causes an influx of water followed by cell swelling and bursting. Notably, GSDMD-N is autoinhibited by GSDMD C-terminal domain before cleavage to prevent cell lysis in normal conditions. Here you can see a recent cryoEM structure of the human GSDMB pore (PDB code: 8ET2)

#immolecular ... #molecularart ... #gasdermin ... #GSDMB ... #pore ..: #membrane ... #cryoem

Structure rendered with @proteinimaging and depicted with @corelphotopaint