The researchers suggested that the effects of NLRP3 inflammasome activation are mediated by IL-18, given that treatment of Pfeiffer cells with IL-18 also resulted in the proliferation-promoting and apoptosis-inhibiting effects on lymphoma cells via shifting the balance of C-MYC/TP53 and BCL-2/BAX, while neutralizing IL-18 had the opposite effects [83]. Here, BAX is linked to lymphoma.