NLRP3 and infection: Besides, some other important pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and IL-1α, as well as NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor protein 3), were upregulated to a top degree at 36 hpi (Figures 5A, D), indicating a higher inflammation response for viral clearance at the late phase after infection, which was supported by the report that the expression level of NLRP3 was positively correlated with the peak inflammatory symptoms (Chen et al., 2017).