TNF and atherosclerosis: In order to explore the immune mechanism underlying the renal damage caused by HFD-induced atherosclerosis, we tested the levels of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) and immunoregulatory cytokines (IL-10, TGF-β) or M1-related iNOS and M2-related Arg-1 in the sera and measured their mRNA expression levels in the kidneys.