NLRP3 and cholesteryl ester measurement: 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).