TNF and atherosclerosis: In the Atherosclerosis + Knockdown group, serum levels of TNF-α (Figure 3(a)) and IL-1β (Figure 3(b)) significantly decreased (P < 0.01), whereas the serum level of TGF-β1 (Figure 3(c)) significantly increased (P < 0.01), as compared with the Atherosclerosis + Vector group.