TNF and atherosclerosis: In addition, as shown in Fig. 4b–f, the lowest expression of major pro-inflammatory cytokines in both the aorta tissues (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and the blood serums (TNF-α and IL-6) were observed in the MM-AT-NPs treated group of ApoE−/− mice with atherosclerosis, when compared with those from all other formulations-treated groups.