TNF and hereditary elliptocytosis: It is worth pointing out that the pharmacological functions of many compounds from KP, especially kalopanaxsaponin-A, have been shown to inhibit the overexpression of TNF-α and IL-1β and downregulation of COX-2 expression via modulating NF-κB/AP-1 [17,18,41]; and that HE treatment suppressed TNF-α-induced overexpression of MMP-9 and downregulated the nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation of NF-κB, followed by suppression of I-κB degradation [15].