TNF and rheumatoid arthritis: Finally, we found that in response to EVs, mainly EV-ICs, there were accumulations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the supernatants of mononuclear phagocytes of RA patients and HCs (Fig. 5C), which suggested that mononuclear phagocytes, after their EVs interaction, could contribute to the systemic inflammation observed in seropositive patients.