TNF and neoplasm: We further confirmed that treatment with the NF-κB inhibitor JSH-23 (Sigma-Aldrich) inhibited Oct4 expression in A549 cells following treatment with TNF-α or IL-1β (Additional file 3: Figure S2D), suggesting that TAMs secret cytokines to upregulate Oct4 expression in lung cancer cells and subsequently promote differentiation of monocytes into M2 macrophages, leading to favoring tumor growth.