In this issue, we introduce the second part of our review series focusing on lesser-known enigmatic inflammasomes. This part of the collection introduces one more under-studied NLR, NLRP7, and not only its role as a regulator of inflammation in response to bacterial infections but also its non-inflammasome role in early pregnancy. In addition, the enigmatic function of extracellular ASC specks is also introduced, where extracellular ASC specks are presented as ‘danger signals’ to propagate inflammation. The series is concluded with an article that reviews the immunometabolic regulation of all of these lesser-known NLRs, demonstrating that metabolic regulation of inflammasome activation is central for the whole NLR family. These three reviews, together with the four articles that were published in the first part of the series in December 2020, offer new insights into the complex functions of NLRs, well beyond the well-known NLRP3. The review series as a whole provides a thought-provoking platform with some of the latest findings in the NLR field and sparks our imagination into what might be discovered in this space in the future.

中文翻译：

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神秘的炎症小体——续集（第 2 部分）

在本期中，我们介绍了我们的评论系列的第二部分，重点关注鲜为人知的神秘炎症小体。该系列的这一部分介绍了另一种尚未得到充分研究的 NLR，即 NLRP7，不仅介绍了它作为细菌感染反应炎症调节剂的作用，还介绍了它在妊娠早期的非炎性作用。此外，还介绍了细胞外ASC斑点的神秘功能，其中细胞外ASC斑点呈现为传播炎症的“危险信号”。该系列的最后一篇文章回顾了所有这些鲜为人知的 NLR 的免疫代谢调节，证明炎性体激活的代谢调节是整个 NLR 家族的核心。这三篇评论连同 2020 年 12 月在该系列第一部分中发表的四篇文章，为 NLR 的复杂功能提供了新的见解，远远超出了众所周知的 NLRP3。整个评论系列提供了一个发人深省的平台，其中包含 NLR 领域的一些最新发现，并激发我们对未来在该领域可能发现的东西的想象力。