NLRP3 and atherosclerosis: These macrophages stained positively for NLRP3 inflammasome and activated caspase 1 [98], likely due to the phagocytosis of cholesterol crystals by macrophages leading to lysosomal swelling and the release of cathepsin B, a lysosomal protease, which activates the NLRP3 inflammasome, a mechanism similar to that responsible for atherosclerosis pathogenesis [99,100].