NLRP3 and atrial fibrillation: Although macrophage NLRP3 activation is insufficient to cause AF, it has been shown that M1 macrophage-derived exosomes mediate cardiomyocyte NLRP3 activation by transferring miR-29a, while cardiomyocyte NLRP3 activation can upregulate the expression of RyR2 and promote abnormal sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release (Yao et al., 2018; Wang Y et al., 2021).