Pyroptosis burden is associated with anti-TNF treatment outcome in inflammatory bowel disease: new insights from bioinformatics analysis

Biological agents known as anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) drugs are frequently utilized in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we analyzed the shared processes of pyroptosis in Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), as well as explored the correlation between the burden of pyroptosis and the results of anti-TNF treatment based on bioinformatics analyses. We identified CAPS1, CASP5, GSDMD, AIM2, and NLRP3 as the hub genes, with AIM2 being the most effective indicator for predicting the response to anti-TNF therapy. We also noticed that non-responders received anti-TNF therapy exhibited elevated AIM2 protein expression. Subsequently, we conducted a cluster analysis based on AIM2-inflammasome-related genes and discovered that patients with a higher burden of AIM2 inflammasome displayed stronger immune function and a poor response to anti-TNF therapy. Overall, our study elucidates the pathway of pyroptosis in IBD and reveals AIM2 expression level as a potential biomarker for predicting the effectiveness of anti-TNF therapy.