NEK7 and cancer: Moreover, NEK7 knockdown elevated pyroptosis-related markers NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD, reducing HCC stimulation of hepatic stellate cells, hinting at NEK7’s considerable role in both tumor progression and cancer-stromal interactions in HCC.149 Additionally, USP48 stabilized GSDME by removing K48-linked ubiquitination at K120 and K189, thereby promoting pyroptotic death in liver cancer cells.150 Additionally, charged multivesicular body protein 3 (CHMP3) contributed to liver cancer via caspase-1-dependent pyroptotic cell death.151