They showed that vascular cells responded to IL-1 by producing an array of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1 itself and IL-6.6 Two decades later, the discovery of the inflammasomes, and in particular that NLRP3 inflammasome activation by cholesterol crystals promotes atherosclerosis through IL-1 activation,7 accelerated efforts to translate this concept to the clinic. The gene discussed is NLRP3; the disease is atherosclerosis.