Cutting without cleaving: How caspase-1 shapes leukemia beyond enzymatic activity.

In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Uible et al.1 uncover a previously unknown non-proteolytic role for caspase-1 (CASP1) in leukemia. CASP1 sustains leukemic growth by coordinating mTORC1-NF-κB signaling as scaffold for RPTOR, rather than regulating IL-1β and pyroptosis. CASP1's scaffolding function was found as a therapeutic vulnerability in leukemia.