da Cruz HLA, Cavalcanti CAJ, de Azêvedo Silva J, et al. - Researchers inquired the effect of inflammasome polymorphins on the susceptibility to develop and/or severity systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Among SLE patients and controls, they also assessed the variations in inflammasome activation in peripheral blood. They assessed the distribution of 13 SNPs in 8 inflammasome genes. Findings revealed the significantly more common presence of the gain-of-function variant rs10754558 (NLRP3) in SLE patients having nephritis, this strengthens the idea of a pivotal role of NLRP3 inflammasome not only in SLE but also particularly in kidney disease. SLE monocytes, vs controls, exhibited a higher level of IL-1ß expression in resting condition as well as generated higher levels of IL-1ß when stimulated with LPS+ATP. NLRP1, AIM2, CASP1, and IL1B genes were significantly expressed as a result of the stimulation, this implies that IL-1ß production noted in monocytes is attributable to NLRP1 inflammasome. Findings lend further support to the notion that inflammasome is a crucial contributor to SLE-associated inflammation.