Tumor necrosis factor

Abstract The commonly used name “tumor necrosis factor” depends on vascular activation and thrombosis, leading to the necrosis of subcutaneous tumors. Moreover, the importance of TNF is highlighted by its discovery in diseases and multiple key biological processes, including immune homeostasis, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, lipid metabolism,and coagulation. TNF is produced as a transmembrane protein (tmTNF) and then enzymatically cleaved by TNF-a-converting enzyme (TACE) to be released as a soluble protein (sTNF). TNF exerts its multiple roles primarily in the regulation of immune cells through binding two types of TNF receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2.