Activated caspase-1 cleaves Pro-IL-1β and Pro-IL-18 into their active forms, IL-1β and IL-18, thereby stimulating hippocampal inflammatory cells, exacerbating inflammation, promoting the formation of neurotoxic A1 astrocytes, and inducing depressive-like behaviors such as anxiety and despair (Huang et al., 2023). The gene discussed is IL1B; the disease is Anxiety.