CASP1 and Hypertension: Deregulation of VSMC phenotypic transformation is responsible for the development and progression of hypertension and its related vascular pathologies.22 NLRP3 inflammasome is important for caspase-1 activation and IL-1β release.10, 23, 24 In the present study, NLRP3 activation, inflammation and phenotypic transformation were found in the SHR, which were attenuated by NLRP3 knockdown in SHR-derived VSMCs, or by NLRP3 gene silencing in the aortic media of SHR.