Since we have shown the key role of IL-1 in the induction of hypoxemia in this LPS plus MV “two-hit” lung injury model (12), and since several other prior studies have demonstrated that autophagy inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β release by LPS/ATP-treated macrophages (28–31), we then hypothesized that autophagy would play a beneficial role in the LPS plus MV ALI model. Here, NLRP3 is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.