RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Caspase-1 cleaves Bid to release mitochondrial SMAC and drive secondary necrosis in the absence of GSDMD JF Life Science Alliance JO Life Sci. Alliance FD Life Science Alliance LLC SP e202000735 DO 10.26508/lsa.202000735 VO 3 IS 6 A1 Heilig, Rosalie A1 Dilucca, Marisa A1 Boucher, Dave A1 Chen, Kaiwen W A1 Hancz, Dora A1 Demarco, Benjamin A1 Shkarina, Kateryna A1 Broz, Petr YR 2020 UL http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/3/6/e202000735.abstract AB Caspase-1 drives a lytic inflammatory cell death named pyroptosis by cleaving the pore-forming cell death executor gasdermin-D (GSDMD). Gsdmd deficiency, however, only delays cell lysis, indicating that caspase-1 controls alternative cell death pathways. Here, we show that in the absence of GSDMD, caspase-1 activates apoptotic initiator and executioner caspases and triggers a rapid progression into secondary necrosis. GSDMD-independent cell death required direct caspase-1–driven truncation of Bid and generation of caspase-3 p19/p12 by either caspase-8 or caspase-9. tBid-induced mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization was also required to drive SMAC release and relieve inhibitor of apoptosis protein inhibition of caspase-3, thereby allowing caspase-3 auto-processing to the fully active p17/p12 form. Our data reveal that cell lysis in inflammasome-activated Gsdmd-deficient cells is caused by a synergistic effect of rapid caspase-1–driven activation of initiator caspases-8/-9 and Bid cleavage, resulting in an unusually fast activation of caspase-3 and immediate transition into secondary necrosis. This pathway might be advantageous for the host in counteracting pathogen-induced inhibition of GSDMD but also has implications for the use of GSDMD inhibitors in immune therapies for caspase-1–dependent inflammatory disease.