TNF and type 2 diabetes mellitus: T2DM patients frequently present with a variety of metabolic disturbances such as hyperinsulinaemia, inflammation (elevated inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha; TNF-α), and disturbed lipid profile (elevated free fatty acids, e.g., palmitate) that may have a cumulative effect and impart persistent pathological changes on EC that are not easy to reverse [7].