HIV viral load, CD4+ T-cell count in peripheral blood and quantitative measurements of soluble markers present in plasma, like neopterin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), interleukins (ILs), beta 2-microglobulin (B2M), soluble CD8, etc have been used as surrogate markers to assess the progression of HIV infection in patients7. Here, TNF is linked to HIV infectious disease.