TNF and acute respiratory distress syndrome: This view is based on (i) early experimental and clinical studies, which have shown that infusion of human TNF into experimental animals induced symptoms of septic shock, including fever, cardiovascular impairment, and organ failure involving the lungs, kidneys, and liver [5–8]; (ii) elevated TNF levels in the bronchopulmonary secretions of patients with ARDS [9], which have been correlated with a poor outcome [10]; and (iii) improved survival in patients subjected to anti-TNF treatment in clinical sepsis trials [11].