@article {Hollingsworth2021, title = {DPP9 sequesters the C terminus of NLRP1 to repress inflammasome activation}, journal = {Nature}, year = {2021}, month = {Mar}, abstract = {Nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat pyrin-domain containing protein\ 1 (NLRP1) is an inflammasome sensor that mediates the activation of caspase-1 to induce cytokine maturation and pyroptosis1{\textendash}4. Gain-of-function mutations of NLRP1 cause severe inflammatory diseases of the skin4{\textendash}6. NLRP1 contains a function-to-find domain that auto-proteolyses into noncovalently associated subdomains7{\textendash}9, and proteasomal degradation of the repressive N-terminal fragment of NLRP1 releases its inflammatory C-terminal fragment (NLRP1\ CT)10,11. Cytosolic dipeptidyl peptidases 8 and 9 (hereafter, DPP8/DPP9) both interact with NLRP1, and small-molecule inhibitors of DPP8/DPP9 activate NLRP1 by mechanisms that are currently unclear10,12{\textendash}14. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human NLRP1{\textendash}DPP9 complex alone and with Val-boroPro (VbP), an inhibitor of DPP8/DPP9. The structures reveal a ternary complex that comprises DPP9, full-length NLRP1 and the NLRPT\ CT. The binding of the NLRP1\ CT to DPP9 requires full-length NLRP1, which suggests that NLRP1 activation is regulated by the ratio of NLRP1\ CT to full-length NLRP1. Activation of the inflammasome by ectopic expression of the NLRP1\ CT is consistently rescued by co-expression of autoproteolysis-deficient full-length NLRP1. The N\ terminus of the NLRP1\ CT inserts into the DPP9 active site, and VbP disrupts this interaction. Thus, VbP weakens the NLRP1{\textendash}DPP9 interaction and accelerates degradation of the N-terminal fragment10 to induce inflammasome activation. Overall, these data demonstrate that DPP9 quenches low levels of NLRP1\ CT and thus serves as a checkpoint for activation of the NLRP1\ inflammasome.}, issn = {1476-4687}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-021-03350-4}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03350-4}, author = {Robert Hollingsworth, L. and Sharif, Humayun and Griswold, Andrew R. and Fontana, Pietro and Mintseris, Julian and Dagbay, Kevin B. and Paulo, Joao A. and Steven P. Gygi and Bachovchin, Daniel A. and Wu, Hao} }