TNF and Hepatic fibrosis: A co-culture system of macrophages and hepatocytes suggests that macrophages activate the NF-κB signaling pathway in HSCs via the increased secretion of IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 and the upregulated expression of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 in HSCs, which promotes the progression of hepatic fibrosis (57).