NLRC4 and major depressive disorder: In patients with MDD, genes related to endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and inflammasomes (such as NLRC4 and NLRP3) are significantly upregulated, suggesting that the enhancement of immune-inflammatory mechanisms in MDD may be closely related to the synergistic effects of organelle dysfunction (involving the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) and inflammasome activation (10).