Ca 2+ flux is a key trigger of NLRP3 inflammasome activation, but bone-resorbing osteoclasts operate in a Ca 2+ -rich environment created during bone resorption. In this issue of Science Signaling , Kaur et al. reveal that osteoclasts prevent inflammasome activation by limiting Ca 2+ influx through the membrane protein Tmem178, thereby protecting bone from excessive resorption driven by inflammatory signaling.
Schmidt et al. (Tue,) studied this question.