Infectious agents also seem to be able to trigger Th17-mediated severe asthma, and this effect may involve the assembly of the inflammasome, an intracellular multiprotein complex which activates caspase-1, a protease that converts pro-IL-1β in its active form, thus enabling it to induce Th17 cell differentiation (65, 66). The gene discussed is IL1B; the disease is asthma.