Clinical data suggested MDD patients demonstrated elevated NLRP3 and Caspase-1 mRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and increased IL-1β and IL-18 levels in the serum; serum IL-1β and IL-18 concentrations were positively related to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores of MDD patients (Alcocer-Gomez et al., 2014). Here, NLRP3 is linked to major depressive disorder.