TNF and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infectious disease: The immune-modulatory activity of simvastatin against MRSA skin infection was evaluated by measuring levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines produced during infection including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in the MRSA infected wounds of mice from the skin infection experiment described above.