TNF and rheumatoid arthritis: Furthermore, it has already been demonstrated in an in vitro model of rheumatoid arthritis that there is co-regulation between TNFR1 and CD147. The authors describe that the negative regulation of CD147 decreases the secretion of cytokines derived from the NF-κB pathway, which in turn is activated by the binding of TNF to its TNFR1 receptor45.