Advanced stages of COVID-19 are characterised by high circulating and pulmonary concentrations of IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA).6, 15, 25 The increased production of these molecules probably relates to high viral loads resulting in increased viroporins and subsequent activation of the NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. The strong expression of IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-1RA is also due to monocyte activation and intense lung infiltration of monocyte-derived macrophages at later stages, as suggested by an abundance of CD14+IL-1β+ monocytes in the circulation of patients with COVID-19 in the early stages of recovery.46 Active IL-1β is produced following NLRP3 assembly and consequent caspase-1 activation. By modulating ion fluxes across host cell membranes, viroporins (in particular the ORF3a protein) have been shown to activate NLRP3 during SARS-CoV infection, and a similar mechanism might be at play during SARS-CoV-2 infection.47