TNF and Sepsis: In an endotoxemic rat model, Mihaylova et al. demonstrated that VNS decreased the plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-10, and cerebral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α expression following sepsis and stabilized hemodynamic responses in the animals with sepsis (Mihaylova et al., 2012).