TNF-α is clearly essential to an effective host immune response to TB, as disease frequently develops after treatment with anti-TNF-α antibodies (Keane et al., 2001), and TNF-α inhibits Mtb growth in zebrafish macrophages (Clay et al., 2008) and human alveolar macrophages (Hirsch et al., 1994). This evidence concerns the gene TNF and tuberculosis.