TNF and inflammatory bowel disease: What’s more, sulfasalazine significantly decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α and IL-6, as well as TLR4 activation in colon tissue compared with DSS-treated mice, indicating the effective but not satisfactory enough effect of sulfasalazine in UC treatment, which was consistent with the utilization status of sulfasalazine in IBD patients.