Balanced IL-1-dependent inflammation is essential to prevent detrimental inflammation and immunopathology, as evidenced, for example, in severe bacterial or viral pneumonia, where neutrophils driving lung injury are the predominant source of IL-1β, or in infection models in which key negative regulators of the IL-1 system, such as IL-1R8, are deficient. The gene discussed is IL1B; the disease is viral pneumonia.