Suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activity was associated with inhibited NF-κB activation, reduced ROS production, and increased autophagy.

(A) Western blot analysis of p-p65, p65, p-IκB-α, and IκB-α expression in the lungs of infected mice in different treatment groups at 5 dpi. (B) Expression of p-p65 relative to p65, p-IκB-α relative to IκB-α, and p65 or IκB-α relative to β-actin. (C) ROS content in the lung homogenates of infected mice in different treatment groups at 5 dpi. (D) Western blot analysis of SQSTM1/p62, Beclin and LC3 I/II expression in the lungs of infected mice in different treatment groups at 5 dpi. (E) Expression of SQSTM1/p62, Beclin, and LC3 II relative to β-actin, and LC3 II relative to LC3 I in the different treatment groups. Data are representative of two independent experiments and presented as mean ± SEM (n = 5 for each group). *, **, and *** represent p < 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001, respectively.