Gasdermin D (GSDMD) is a newly discovered pyroptosis executive
protein, which can be cleaved by inflammatory
caspases and is essential for secretion of IL‑1β, making it a critical mediator of
inflammation. However, the precise role of GSDMD in
carcinogenesis remains nearly unknown. Considering the vital role of
inflammation in
tumorigenesis, we investigated the biological function of GSDMD in non‑small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC). Our study demonstrated that the GSDMD
protein levels were significantly upregulated in NSCLC compared to these levels in matched adjacent
tumor specimens. Higher GSDMD expression was associated with aggressive traits including larger
tumor size and more advanced
tumor-node-
metastasis (TNM) stages. In addition, high GSDMD expression indicated a poor prognosis in
lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), but not in
squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Knockdown of GSDMD restricted
tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Notably, intrinsic and extrinsic activation of pyroptotic (NLRP3/caspase‑1) signaling in GSDMD‑deficient
tumor cells induced another type of programmed cell death (apoptosis), instead of pyroptosis. GSDMD depletion activated the cleavage of caspase‑3 and PARP, and promoted
cancer cell death via intrinsic mitochondrial apoptotic pathways. In addition, co‑expression analyses indicated a correlation between GSDMD and EGFR/Akt signaling. Collectively, our results revealed a crosstalk between pyroptotic signaling and apoptosis in
tumor cells. Knockdown of GSDMD attenuated
tumor proliferation by promoting apoptosis and inhibiting EGFR/Akt signaling in NSCLC. In conclution, GSDMD is an independent prognostic
biomarker for LUAD.