TNF and colitis: Recombinant Sj16 (rSj16), a 16-kDa secreted protein of S. japonicum produced in Escherichia coli, was shown to alleviate disease severity in DSS-induced colitis mice; this resulted from down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17a, and Chil3, whose expression is high in IBD individuals, and up-regulation of the anti-inflammatory cytokines (TGF-β and IL-10), with increased percentages of Tregs (46).