But first, some info on the structure of TNF-beta!
| The overall structure of tumor necrosis factor-beta,
also known as human lymphotoxin, is very similar to TNF-alpha. The TNF-beta
monomer, which is shown to the right (in blue)
with one of its possible receptors (in green),
is an all beta-sheet protein as is the TNF-alpha monomer. Push the button
to investigate!
The active form of TNF-beta, like its counterpart,
is the trimer form (Eck et al., 1993). For another look at the trimer,
click here. In fact, in the TNFs, the monomers are arranged together internally
to form the trimer in exactly the same way. The surfaces of these two trimers
differ everywhere in detail, however. Only 17 surface residues per monomer
are conserved (Eck et al., 1993). Both molecules are cytotoxic to
some tumor cell lines in vitro and cause hemorrhagic necrosis of
tumors in vivo (Gray, et al., 1984). Click here
for more information! |
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