TNF and inflammatory bowel disease: To identify inflammatory mediators contributing to MMP-7 over-expression in IBD, we first incubated FHC fetal human colon epithelial cells, rat colon smooth muscle cells (RCSMC), and THP-1 human macrophages with pro-inflammatory cytokines (10 ng/mL) commonly over-expressed in IBD (30), including IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-22, IL-23, and TNFα, or LPS (10 ng/mL) and assessed MMP7 mRNA levels by RT-qPCR.