Exploring NLRP3-related phenotypic fingerprints in human macrophages using Cell Painting assay

Abstract

Existing research has proven difficult to understand the interplay between upstream signaling events during NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Additionally, events downstream of inflammasome complex formation such as cytokine release and pyroptosis can exhibit variation, further complicating matters. Cell Painting has emerged as a prominent tool for unbiased evaluation of the effect of perturbations on cell morphological phenotypes. Using this technique, phenotypic fingerprints can be generated that reveal connections between phenotypes and possible modes of action. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study that utilized Cell Painting on human THP-1 macrophages to generate phenotypic fingerprints in response to different endogenous and exogenous NLRP3 inflammasome triggers and to identify phenotypic features specific to NLRP3 inflammasome complex formation. Our results demonstrated that not only can Cell Painting generate morphological fingerprints that are NLRP3 trigger-specific but it can also identify cellular fingerprints associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation.