TNF and ischemic stroke: During the pathophysiological cascade of ischemic stroke, hypoxia at the injury site triggers autoimmune reactivity against neural antigens, followed by the activation of resident neuroglial populations, particularly astrocytes and microglia, to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a).