NLRP3 and COVID-19: The log2 fold change of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in monocytes within PBMCs of severe and mild COVID-19 patients confirmed the log2 fold change observed in NLRP3 (0.22), CASP-1 (0.29) and IL-1β (1.16) during severe stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Fig 1E).