Tumour necrosis factor

TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) family
Trimeric structure of TNF alpha, produced by Mus musculus, based on PDB structure 2TNF (1.4 Å Resolution). Different colors represent different monomers. Baeyens, KJ et al. (1999). Figure rendered using FirstGlance Jmol.
Identifiers
Symbol	TNF
Pfam	PF00229
InterPro	IPR006052
PROSITE	PDOC00224
SCOP	1tnf
SUPERFAMILY	1tnf
OPM superfamily	357
OPM protein	2hew
Available protein structures: Pfam structures PDB RCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBj PDBsum structure summary

TNF
crystal structure of trail-sdr5
Identifiers
Symbol	TNF
Pfam	PF00229
Pfam clan	CL0100
InterPro	IPR006052
PROSITE	PDOC00561
SCOP	1tnr
SUPERFAMILY	1tnr
Available protein structures: Pfam structures PDB RCSB PDB; PDBe; PDBj PDBsum structure summary

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily refers to a superfamily of cytokines that can cause cell death (apoptosis).

The first two members of the family to be identified were:

Nineteen proteins have been identified as part of the TNF family on the basis of sequence, functional, and structural similarities. They include:

All these cytokines seem to form homotrimeric (or heterotrimeric in the case of LT-alpha/beta) complexes that are recognized by their specific receptors. Strong hydrogen bonds between the monomers stabilize the tertiary structure. One such example is the Asn34-Arg82 hydrogen bond in the M. musculus TNF alpha. The PROSITE pattern for this family is located in a beta-strand in the central section of the protein that is conserved across all members.

All members of the TNF family, with the exception of the secreted lymphotoxin and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), are type II transmembrane proteins that protrude from immune cells. Such membrane-bound TNF ligands frequently signal back to the immune cells when they contact and bind their cognate receptors on other cells.

Human proteins containing this domain include:

This article incorporates text from the public domain Pfam and InterPro IPR006052