IL18 and major depressive disorder: Other studies have found that exercise can reduce the generation of ROS by upregulating the expression of UCP2 and lowering the mitochondrial membrane potential, thereby inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB and TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome pathways, reducing the release of pro-inflammatory factors (such as IL-1β and IL-18), and ultimately improving mitochondrial energy metabolism and alleviating depression-related symptoms [22,117,118].