TNF-α: A Benificial or Harmful Pathogenic Cytokine in Cardiovascular System

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF- alpha) plays important role in pathophysiology of cardiovascular system and had been comprehensively studied over the last 20 years.  These studies demonstrate both Detrimental and potentially conflicting roles of TNF-α in pathophysiology of heart. Beneficial effects of TNF-α includes cardioprotective action against ischemia, myocarditis, pressure overload and preventive action against potential adverse effects including development of atherosclerosis, reperfusion injury, hypertrophy, and heart failure. However, TNF-α is still controversial for its beneficial or harmful effects for cardiovascular system. This review includes evaluation of possible role of TNF-α in cardiovascular system specifically in pathophysiology and morphology of cardiomyocytes. Further this article mainly emphases on the claimed role of TNF-α pathways with concerning essential cardiac cellular processes which may have unswerving adaptive effects in the heart with respect to future research directions.  Keywords: Tumor Necrosis Factor, Hypertrophy, Pathophysiology, Cytokine, Pathology, Cardiovascular System