NFKB1 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Increased IL-17 was found in patients with sepsis-induced ARDS and IL-17 may serve as a biomarker to indicate the severity of ARDS. Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) is a transcription factor that regulates the expression of many cytokines and has been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory disease, including ALI and ARDS.