TNF and infection: During infection, JEV invades the central nervous system (CNS) and triggers a robust inflammatory response, resulting in increased levels of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (CCL5), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (also called CCL2) in the cerebrospinal fluid (9).