These triggers are also commonly reported to precede acute exacerbation in IPF (3, 27), and it is thus conceivable that elevated inflammasome inducibility in IPF patients (such as the increased pro-IL-1ß an IL-1ß production shown herein upon signal 1 or signal 2 stimulation) predisposes them to increased risk of acute exacerbation when exposed to these stimuli. This evidence concerns the gene IL1B and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.