A recent study has shown that NEK7 (NIMA-related kinase 7) intervenes in the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome involved in ventilation-induced lung injury (VILI); mechanical ventilation, a lifesaving treatment for patients who experience respiratory failure, may be complicated by infiltrations of inflammatory cells due to an increase in permeability in the capillary membrane and, consequently, pulmonary edema (Figure 6) [78]. This evidence concerns the gene NEK7 and respiratory failure.