NLRP3 and chronic kidney disease: To determine whether kidney dysfunction upregulates the NLRP3 inflammasome complex in atria, we adopted the previously established 2-stage subtotal nephrectomy protocol (30, 31) to create a CKD model in WT (WT-CKD) and Nlrp3-knockout CKD (Nlrp3–/–-CKD) mice (Figure 2A).