First Author | Browning JL | Year | 1993 |
Journal | Cell | Volume | 72 |
Issue | 6 | Pages | 847-56 |
PubMed ID | 7916655 | Mgi Jnum | J:30785 |
Mgi Id | MGI:78598 | Doi | 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90574-a |
Citation | Browning JL, et al. (1993) Lymphotoxin beta, a novel member of the TNF family that forms a heteromeric complex with lymphotoxin on the cell surface. Cell 72(6):847-56 |
abstractText | The lymphokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has a well-defined role as an inducer of inflammatory responses; however, the function of the structurally related molecule lymphotoxin (LT alpha) is unknown. LT alpha is present on the surface of activated T, B, and LAK cells as a complex with a 33 kd glycoprotein, and cloning of the cDNA encoding the associated protein, called lymphotoxin beta (LT beta), revealed it to be a type II membrane protein with significant homology to TNF, LT alpha, and the ligand for the CD40 receptor. The gene for LT beta was found next to the TNF-LT locus in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a region of the MHC with possible linkage to autoimmune disease. These observations raise the possibility that a surface LT alpha-LT beta complex may have a specific role in immune regulation distinct from the functions ascribed to TNF. |