NLRP3 and Sepsis: The results showed that sepsis significantly promoted NLRP3, Pro Caspase-1, ASC and IL-18 mRNA levels, increased NLRP3, Pro Caspase-1, Cleaved Caspase-1 and ASC protein expression, whereas pretreatment with 6 and 30 mg/kg taraxerone attenuated these effects (Fig. 5A, B).