TNF and lupus nephritis: Aberrant tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling is a key pathogenic player in multiple chronic inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, and bacterial infection (sepsis) (Spooner et al., 1992; Mageed and Isenberg, 2002; Issuree et al., 2013; Lichtenthaler, 2013; Geesala et al., 2019).