Different groups have reported that colonic mucosa of IBD patients exhibited higher levels of caspase 1 (McAlindon et al., 1998), IL1β (Mahida et al., 1989; Ligumsky et al., 1990; Reinecker et al., 1993; McAlindon et al., 1998), and IL-18 (Kanai et al., 2000), demonstrating an association of elevated NLRP3 inflammasome activity with IBD. This evidence concerns the gene IL18 and inflammatory bowel disease.