TNF and chronic hepatitis B virus infection: Liver fibrosis is an important pathological process in the development of liver cirrhosis, which suggests that IL-17 might play an important role in the fibrogenesis and progression of chronic hepatitis B. Some reports have demonstrated that the cytokines TGF-β, interleukin-6, interleukin-1, and TNF-α play important parts in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHB [12,13].