TNF and infection: In COVID-19 patients, an unregulated inflammatory response to the infection can result in the dysregulation of T cells with associated lymphopenia, high levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and high levels of inflammatory chemokines, including C-C motif chemokine ligand (CCL-2) (35).