NLRP3 and inflammatory bowel disease: The NLRP3 inflammasome is a powerful player in innate immunity to fight off invading pathogens and damage, but excess inflammation caused by dysregulated NLRP3 activation is attributed to a wide variety of diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease21.