TNF and Sepsis: Moreover, a significant inhibition of TNF-α was discovered in the KO-CLP sepsis group in contrast to the WT-CLP sepsis group both at 6 h and 24 h after the CLP (p < 0.05), while the KO-CLP mice had a lower level of IL-6 at 24 h rather than at 6 h after the CLP compared with the WT-CLP mice (p < 0.01).