The innate immune system serves as the body’s first line of defense against infection and injury, relying on inflammasomes–molecular signaling platforms that detect danger and trigger inflammation. Each inflammasome is built from a family of proteins known as NOD-like receptors (NLRs), but how these individual inflammasomes might cooperate with one another remains an open question in immunology. Dr. Zhouping Hong’s research explores the bold idea that different NLRs can assemble together into “super-inflammasome” complexes—coordinated structures that amplify immune signaling and may play key roles in inflammation, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
Focusing on two major inflammasomes, NLRP3 and NLRP1, Dr. Hong is combining advanced biochemical, biophysical, and structural approaches to uncover how these complexes form and function. Her studies aim to determine whether the two inflammasomes physically interact, how this cooperation enhances immune activation, and what molecular mechanisms govern their assembly. By establishing the first mechanistic framework for super-inflammasome formation, this work could transform our understanding of how innate immunity is regulated and identify new therapeutic targets for inflammation-driven diseases.
Dr. Hong is a biochemist and structural biologist whose research bridges molecular mechanisms and immune regulation. Her expertise spans biochemistry, membrane biology, and structural immunology, and she has made key discoveries on lipid transport between organelles and protein–lipid interactions. Now applying this rigorous training to innate immunity, she is uncovering how inflammasome networks coordinate immune defense—insights that could ultimately guide new strategies to control inflammation and treat immune-related disorders.
Sponsor
Hao Wu, PhD
Projects and Grants
Investigating the NLRP3 and NLRP1 super-inflammasome
