After infection with E. coli (the second most common species involved in neonatal sepsis), neonatal monocytes (CBMo) were shown to undergo phagocytosis-induced cell death (PICD) much less than Mo from adults (PBMo), due to alterations in the extrinsic, FAS- and TNF-dependent pathway as well as in the intrinsic pathway. Here, TNF is linked to infection.