The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and HMGB1/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) play vital roles in inflammation and pulmonary fibrosis, and NLRP3 is a key regulator of HMGB1 release (Hamada et al., 2008; Willingham et al., 2009; Volkova et al., 2012; Stout-Delgado et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2019). Here, NLRP3 is linked to pulmonary fibrosis.