Human gasdermin D (GSDMD) is a member of the gasdermin (GSDM) protein family, which is processed by inflammatory caspases and cleaved into N‑terminal (GSDMD(1‑275)) and C‑terminal (GSDMD(276‑484)) fragments (Shi et al. 2015). The N‑terminal fragment of GSDMD (1‑275) by itself caused pyroptosis when expressed ectopically in human embryonic kidney HEK293 cells, whereas the overexpression of the GSDMD C‑terminus was found to block pyroptosis (Shi et al, 2015). The N‑terminal fragment, GSDMD (1‑275), targets and permeabilizes cellular membranes by assembling transmembrane pores (Ding et al, 2016; Liu X et al, 2016; Sborgi et al, 2016; Mulvihill et al. 2018). High‐resolution (≤ 2 nm) atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that the N‑terminal fragment of GSDMD inserts into various lipid membranes (Mulvihill E et al. 2018). The lipid composition of the membrane was found to directly influence the ability of GSDMD to permeabilize liposomes (Ding et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2016; Mulvihill et al. 2018). Whereas phosphoinositides (PIPs) facilitated binding of GSDMD (1‑275), cholesterol reduced insertion of GSDMD (1‑275) and pore formation (Ding et al, 2016; Sborgi et al, 2016; Mulvihill et al. 2018). Once inserted, GSDMD (1‑275) assembles arc‐, slit‐, and ring‐shaped oligomers (Ding et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2016; Sborgi et al, 2016; Mulvihill et al. 2018).