Abstract: Ulcerative colitis is an immune-mediated chronic intestinal inflammation. Genetic susceptibility, colonic microflora and mucosal immune dysfunction are important in the development of ulcerative colitis. Most of the studies showed that NLRP3 inflammasome maintained the intestinal homeostasis and had a protective influence on the experimental colitis. The defect in NLRP3 function may lead to be more susceptible to ulcerative colitis. NLRP3 inflammasome is probably a new target of ulcerative colitis treatment.

Key words: ulcerative colitis, NLRP3 inflammasome