Regardless, the synergistic activity of infection and peptide exposure in these cells was found to be mechanistically dependent upon interaction of the epithelial cells with live P. aeruginosa, but not dependent upon T3SS, and to be dependent upon cathelicidin-mediated release of cathepsin B from lysosomes or phagolysosome in infected cells, inducing activation of the NLPR3 inflammasome. The gene discussed is CTSB; the disease is infection.