Acting as both up-stream and down-stream mediators of TLR signaling, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α has been shown to be upregulated in OSA patients, and this increase became more pronounced with the more severe grades of OSAS, indicating that TNF-α might be a promising circulating biomarker for the development of OSA [8]. The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.