Qi Q, Zhu CH, Li JL, Yu J. Targeting inflammasome in digestive diseases: A dual approach of Western and Chinese medicine. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(45): 121899 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.121899]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing Yu, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Rheumatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 33 Beiling Street, Shenyang 110032, Liaoning Province, China. yujingliaoning@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Share the Article
Qi Q, Zhu CH, Li JL, Yu J. Targeting inflammasome in digestive diseases: A dual approach of Western and Chinese medicine. World J Gastroenterol 2026; 32(45): 121899 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.121899]
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2026; 32(45): 121899 Published online Dec 7, 2026. doi: 10.3748/wjg.121899
Targeting inflammasome in digestive diseases: A dual approach of Western and Chinese medicine
Qing Qi, Cheng-Hui Zhu, Jia-Ling Li, Jing Yu
Qing Qi, Jia-Ling Li, Jing Yu, Department of Rheumatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang 110032, Liaoning Province, China
Cheng-Hui Zhu, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang 110031, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Qi Q and Zhu CH have been involved in drafting the manuscript, designed the research study; Qi Q, Li JL, and Yu J performed the research; Li JL and Yu J collected and analyzed the data; all authors have been involved in revising it critically for important intellectual content, participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to its accuracy or integrity, give final approval of the version to be published.
AI contribution statement: The AI tools were only used to polish the “answering-reviewers” file.
Supported by Liaoning Province Science and Technology Plan Joint Plan (Natural Science Foundation-General Program), No. 2025-MSLH-495.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Corresponding author: Jing Yu, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Rheumatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 33 Beiling Street, Shenyang 110032, Liaoning Province, China. yujingliaoning@163.com
Received: April 8, 2026 Revised: May 25, 2026 Accepted: September 17, 2026 Published online: December 7, 2026 Processing time: 189 Days and 20.8 Hours
Abstract
The NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a key innate immune complex regulating inflammation and homeostasis. Its aberrant activation drives caspase-1 and interleukin-1β/interleukin-18 maturation, fueling excessive inflammation. Dysregulated NLRP3 signaling is closely linked to digestive diseases including inflammatory bowel disease, acute pancreatitis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, exacerbating barrier dysfunction, tissue injury, and hepatic inflammation. Western medicine strategies target inflammasome assembly, upstream signals, or downstream cytokines; several inhibitors show anti-inflammatory effects in models and early trials, but to date no NLRP3 inhibitor has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for digestive diseases, and face challenges in long-term safety and specificity, with several candidate drugs failing in clinical trials due to hepatotoxicity or poor efficacy. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can affect several targets and pathways. Recent research indicates that TCM components and prescriptions control the activation of NLRP3 via oxidative stress, immune unbalance and inflammatory pathways, providing extra benefits. Therefore, the NLRP3 inflammasome provides an encouraging treatment connection between innate immunity and digestive diseases. Further research should combine Western and TCM mechanisms, increase the clinical evidence and promote translational studies for accurate therapies.
Core Tip: The activation of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasome is connected with some digestive system diseases through inflammation and pyroptosis. At present, Western medicine focuses on this problem, but no inhibitor has been used in digestive diseases and some serious side effects (such as hepatotoxicity) also occur, together with unsuccessful clinical trials. On the contrary, traditional Chinese medicine regulates it from various aspects. A combined therapy involving both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine may exhibit an additive effect and provides a promising precise therapeutic approach for digestive disorders.
