TNF and cardiac hypertrophy: Experimental studies have demonstrated that cardiac hypertrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy occur in transgenic mouse with a selective overexpression of TNF-α, indicating the strong and direct effect of TNF-α on cardiomyocytes via the induction of apoptosis, the depression of contractility, and the downregulation of sarcomeric proteins in cardiomyocytes (17-19).