TNF and bacterial infectious disease: For example, the conserved cytokines IL-1β, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) each activate nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling pathways to regulate early inflammatory responses to bacterial infection [4], which are followed by the acute phase response (APR), defined by production of plasma proteins such as complement system components, cerebellin-like proteins, lectins, haptoglobin and ferritin [5, 6].