VEGF‐A‐induced oxidative stress may stimulate NLRP3 inflammasome activation and lead to the secretion of active IL‐1β to promote cataract formation, consistent with our observation that (i) oxidative stress can induce IL‐1β activation in lens epithelial cells in vitro (Marneros, 2013), that (ii) increased VEGF‐A‐induced oxidative damage in lenses with cataracts in VEGF‐Ahyper mice is associated with increased IL‐1β expression, and that (iii) genetic inactivation of either Nlrp3 or Il1r1 inhibits cataract formation in VEGF‐Ahyper mice. Here, IL1R1 is linked to cataract.