IL18 and HIV infectious disease: Furthermore, the inflammasome, which is responsible for maturation of pro-IL-1 and -18 to bioactive molecules [121], may also be activated during chronic HIV infection by HIV ligands or danger molecules liberated from damaged tissue, since IL-1 has been linked to HIV-associated dementia, and IL-18 has been suggested to play an important role in the development of progressive immunodeficiency and AIDS [122].