Unraveling TNF's Role in Cellular Suicide—and Survival

摘要

Tumor necrosis factor may—finally—be about to live up to its name. TNF is a signal molecule made by the immune system. When it was discovered, more than 20 years ago, its most promising effect was that it caused tumors to shrink. But TNF never fulfilled its early therapeutic promise. Cells developed resistance, and TNF seemed perversely also to help keep cells alive. Now the complexities are being unraveled by researchers pursuing the tangled pathways of programmed cell death, or apoptosis.