TNF alpha

Alias: TNFα, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha

TNFα is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays key roles in innate and adaptive immunity. TNFα is widely implicated in numerous immune responses and regulations, though TNFα is most often associated with regulation of cell survival and pro-inflammatory properties. TNFα is known to induce cellular proliferation/differentiation, tumorigenesis, apoptotic or necrotic cell death (including certain tumor cell lines), immunoregulatory activities, lipid metabolism, coagulation and endothelial function. Its pro-inflammatory properties lead to the recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells to the site of injury where it is known to induce various cytokines that include IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, and RANTES. TNFα is primarily expressed by macrophages and monocytes, but is also expressed by neutrophils, NK-cells, mast-cells, endothelial cells, activated lymphocytes, and various tissue-specific cell types including certain cancers. TNFα is expressed as membrane-bound homotrimer protein that is cleaved by ADAM17 that allows for its release into the blood stream. TNFα binds to two distinctly different type I transmembrane glycoprotein receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2, that bind to the soluble and membrane-bound forms of TNFα with different affinities. TNFα is associated with numerous diseases due to its role in inflammation and autoimmunity that include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBS), psoriasis, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Developments of TNFα neutralizing treatments have severely help treat many of these diseases.