Having established which NLRs and down-stream molecules can be detected by RT-PCR, we next assessed the expression of mRNA transcripts for NLRP3, IL-1β, IL-18 and casp-1 by qPCR in duodenal samples taken from 18 healthy and 22 dogs with CE (their signalment and clinical data can be found in Table 1). Here, CASP1 is linked to cholesteryl ester measurement.