CASP1 and major depressive disorder: To bridge this gap, by using an LPS-induced depression-like animal model, we conducted a thorough gene expression analysis of crucial inflammasomes (NLRP3, NLRP1, NLRC4, AIM2) and related subunits (ASC and CASP1) in specific cortical-subcortical brain regions involved in behavioral-cognitive functions impaired in depression, assessing the effects of a chronic VTX pre-treatment on these genes at two different time-points post-LPS injection.