NLRP3 and atherosclerosis: For example, Ldlr−/− mice that received bone marrow from NLRP3−/−, ASC−/−, or IL-1α/β−/− mice developed less atherosclerosis after 8 weeks of a high-cholesterol diet, relative to control mice, suggesting that activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in bone marrow-derived cells contributes to diet-induced atherosclerosis (4).