NLRP3 and infection: As shown in Fig 4C, compared to uninfected cells, while the infection of TOE-A5 caused reduction in ubiquitinated NLRP3, the amount of the ubiquitinated NLRP3 in the TOE-A5/nleA-infected cells did not decrease but increased, indicating that NleA directly or indirectly influence this step of inflammasome activation.