IL18 and infection: Having established that IL-18 is upregulated during murine S. Typhimurium infection, we infected WT, Asc−/− and Nlrp3−/− mice with S. Typhimurium (inoculum 106 cfu, typhoid model) and sacrificed them after 2 and 5 days (i.e., before the first deaths occurred) to determine the bacterial loads in MLN (the primary site of the infection once invading bacteria have penetrated the mucosal barrier), liver, spleen and blood in order to evaluate bacterial loads and dissemination to distant body sites.