NLRP3 and Alzheimer disease: Considering that the increase of NLRP3 may be a driver of microglial activation in AD pathology, we then stained NLRP3 and analyzed their levels in microglia, and found that NLRP3 levels in microglia around Aβ plaques were significantly increased in the cortex in AD mouse, compared to the WT mouse (Figures 4E, F).