During the early phase of bacterial infection, NK cells mainly produce interferon-γ (IFN-γ), which can prime macrophage activation and contribute to potent innate immune responses, including the secretion of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) [6,7]. Here, IL1B is linked to bacterial infectious disease.