NLRP3 and Sepsis: In a previous study in mice, our group showed that during CLP sepsis, the NLRP3 inflammasome may mediate the systemic elevation of extracellular histones in plasma, which was associated with apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and increases in cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular calcium [Ca2 +] in cardiomyocytes [13].