IL13 and infection: Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis of mouse lung tissue revealed upregulation of NLPR3 upon infection with Mtb. In the lungs of Mtb-infected IL-13-overexpressing mice, NLRP3 mRNA was highly abundant and expressed to significantly higher levels than in the lungs of wild-type mice at 42 and 124 days post infection (Fig. 3e).