TNF and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Interestingly, as a small chemical compound capable of accelerating TNFα mRNA degradation and thus diminishing encoding of this cytokine protein, thalidomide was approved to treat autoimmunity-associated disease and malignant indications such as multiple myeloma; this compound has been recently shown to alleviate respiratory symptoms and to improve life quality in patients with IPF [39,40].