Invitrogen™ TNF beta Human Instant ELISA™ Kit

Description

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) was originally discovered as a serum protein with necrotizing effects on certain transplantable mouse tumors in vivo and cytotoxic effects against some transformed cells in vitro. The TNF family consists of two proteins designated TNF-alpha, also called cachectin, and TNF-beta, also called lymphotoxin. Soluble TNF-beta is a T-cell derived glycoprotein of 25 kD mainly produced by activated lymphocytes. TNF-beta is 28 % structurally homologous with the macrophage produced non-glycoprotein TNF-alpha. TNF-beta is induced in an antigen-specific MHC restricted fashion from class I and class II restricted T cells. Viral infection is also associated with TNF-beta production by lymphoid cells. TNF-beta has several effects on target cells including killing, growth stimulation, induction of adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) expression, and induction of differentiation. The mechanisms of TNF-beta effects involve receptor binding and internalization and several sequelae including changes in prostaglandins and chromosome integrity. TNF-beta participates in tumor immunity, and it has been reported to inhibit carcinogenesis as well as growth of some tumors in vivo.