NLRP3 and chronic kidney disease: Previous research has revealed upregulation of the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in artery specimens from CKD patients [10] and high phosphate-treated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation prevented VSMC calcification, suggesting a critical role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathogenesis of VC [10, 11].