Biology:TNFSF12

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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