TNF and acute respiratory distress syndrome: One of the main mechanisms of ARDS is a cytokine storm, which is a deadly systemic inflammatory response, characterized by the release of large amounts of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines by immune effector cells, including interleukin 2 (IL-2), IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, and IL-1β, as well as interferon γ, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), GCSF, IP10, MCP1, and MIP1A (19, 81).