Biology:TNFSF12

From HandWiki
A representation of the 3D structure of the protein myoglobin showing turquoise α-helices.
Generic protein structure example

Tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 12 also known as TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TNFSF12 gene.[1][2][3]

Function

TWEAK was discovered in 1997.[1] The protein encoded by this gene is a cytokine that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand family. This protein is a ligand for the FN14/TWEAKR receptor. This cytokine has overlapping signaling functions with TNF, but displays a much wider tissue distribution. Leukocytes are the main source of TWEAK including human resting and activated monocytes, dendritic cells and natural killer cells.[4] TWEAK can induce apoptosis via multiple pathways of cell death in a cell type-specific manner. This cytokine is also found to promote proliferation and migration of endothelial cells, and thus acts as a regulator of angiogenesis.[3]

Clinical significance

Excessive activation of the TWEAK pathway in chronic injury has been described to promote pathological tissue changes including chronic inflammation, fibrosis and angiogenesis.[5] In chronic liver disease, for example, TWEAK expression is enhanced and causes hepatic stellate cells, which are key regulators of liver fibrosis, to proliferate.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "TWEAK, a new secreted ligand in the tumor necrosis factor family that weakly induces apoptosis". The Journal of Biological Chemistry 272 (51): 32401–10. December 1997. doi:10.1074/jbc.272.51.32401. PMID 9405449. 
  2. ↑ "Identification of a ligand for the death-domain-containing receptor Apo3". Current Biology 8 (9): 525–8. April 1998. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(98)70204-0. PMID 9560343. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Entrez Gene: TNFSF12 tumor necrosis factor (ligand) superfamily, member 12". https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=gene&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=8742. 
  4. ↑ "TWEAK attenuates the transition from innate to adaptive immunity" (in en). Cell 123 (5): 931–44. December 2005. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.022. PMID 16325585. 
  5. ↑ "TWEAK/Fn14 axis: the current paradigm of tissue injury-inducible function in the midst of complexities". Seminars in Immunology. The TNF family - challenges ahead 26 (3): 229–36. June 2014. doi:10.1016/j.smim.2014.02.006. PMID 24636536. 
  6. ↑ "Interaction of TWEAK with Fn14 leads to the progression of fibrotic liver disease by directly modulating hepatic stellate cell proliferation" (in en). The Journal of Pathology 239 (1): 109–21. February 2016. doi:10.1002/path.4707. PMID 26924336. 

Further reading