TNF and endothelial dysfunction: (3) Some cytokines, such as type I interferon or TNF-α [39], could also injury the endothelium, etc. Moreover, numerous lines of evidence suggested that the activation and injury of endothelial cells might play a key role in the pathogenesis of vasculopathy in SLE, as endothelial dysfunction represented a state of deviation from normal to a vasoconstrictive, procoagulant, platelet activating, and anti-fibrinolytic state[40,41].