TNF and fungal keratitis: Treatment with PL resulted in a significant down-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α (Figures 4A, B) and IL-6 (Figures 4C, D) at both mRNA and protein levels compared to the DMSO treatment group at 5 days p.i. Furthermore, we investigated whether the mechanism underlying PL's efficacy in treating fungal keratitis is associated with HMGB1/LOX-1 by examining changes in mRNA and protein expression levels in the cornea.