TNF and colitis: Studies in TNBS-induced colitis revealed that treatment with sinomenine (100 and 200 mg/kg of body weight in mice, p.o.)significantly attenuated the clinical and histopathologic severity of colitis related to the reduction of colonic protein expression of c-Maf, TNF-α, IFN-γ and miR-155, as well as the production of TNF-α and IFN-γ (Cheng et al., 2007; Yu et al., 2013).