Previous studies have shown that many proinflammatory cytokines and profibrotic growth factors, including interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-18, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) are involved in pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis6, 7, 8. Here, TNF is linked to inflammation.