IL18 and familial dilated cardiomyopathy: In this study, western blotting showed that NLRP3 inflammasomes were activated in the DCM model, as shown by the overexpression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), caspase-1, cleaved caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, NEK7, and GSDMD as well as its N-terminal fragment.