According to findings from experimental studies (Chung et al., 1990), TNF-α might inhibit β-adrenergic signal transduction through either activation of Gi proteins or impairment of activation of Gs proteins, something that could be viewed as an adaptive mechanism in the early stages of CHF, protecting cardiac myocytes from the deleterious actions of catecholamines. This evidence concerns the gene TNF and congestive heart failure.