Description
Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), also called cachectin, consists of 158 amino acids. TNF-a is a 17.5kD factor produced by neutrophils, CD4+ T cells, macrophage, NK cells, LAK cells, astrocytes endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells. TNF-a is cytolytic and plays an important role in immune regulation including hemorrhagic tumor necrosis/cytotoxicity and inflammation, and in regulation of antiviral and immune proliferative and activation responses. The active form of this protein is a trimer. Additional amino acid, methionine, was attached at N-terminus of the protein