It belongs to the pentraxin family and is increased in cases of inflammation, injury or infection.7 Cytokines play a major role in modulating the immune response, and are either pro-inflammatory (tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), IL-1β, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), IL-6, and IL-8), or anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and interferon gamma (IFN-γ)). The gene discussed is TNF; the disease is infection.