CASP1 and systemic sclerosis: In order to provide information about the possible intracellular mechanisms involved in P2X7R-dependent collagen production in LPS-primed SSc dermal fibroblasts, we evaluated whether the LPS plus BzATP co-incubation was associated with the production of specific cytokines, particularly IL-1β and IL-6, as a possible result of the P2X7R-induced activation of the K+-dependent NALP3 inflammasome/caspase-1 or the Ca2+-dependent MAP-Kinase/egr-1 systems, respectively.