AIM2 and infection: The importance of the AIM2 inflammasome upon PAMP recognition has been confirmed by infection experiments using aim2-deficient macrophages infected with Francisella tularensis, L. monocytogenes, vaccinia virus, herpes simplex virus-1 and mouse cytomegalovirus (Fernandes-Alnemri et al., 2010; Rathinam et al., 2010).