Inflammasomes in the urinary tract: a disease-based review.

Inflammasomes are supramolecular structures that sense molecular patterns from pathogenic organisms or damaged cells and trigger an innate immune response, most commonly through production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1I2 and IL-18, but also through less understood mechanisms independent of these cytokines. Great strides have been made in understanding these structures and their dysfunction in various inflammatory diseases, lending new insights into urological and renal problems.