title: Induction of apoptosis by Apo-2 ligand, a new member of the tumor necrosis factor cytokine family.
abstract: Cytokines in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family regulate development and function of the immune system. We have isolated a new member of this family, designated Apo-2 ligand (Apo-2L), via an expressed sequence tag. Apo-2L is a 281-amino acid protein, related most closely to Fas/Apo-1 ligand. Transfected Apo-2L is expressed at the cell surface with its C terminus exposed, indicating a type II transmembrane protein topology. Like Fas/Apo-1 ligand and TNF, the C-terminal extracellular region of Apo-2L (amino acids 114-281) exhibits a homotrimeric subunit structure. Soluble Apo-2L induces extensive apoptosis in lymphoid as well as non-lymphoid tumor cell lines. The effect of Apo-2L is not inhibited by soluble Fas/Apo-1 and TNF receptors; moreover, expression of human Fas/Apo-1 in mouse fibroblasts, which confers sensitivity to induction of apoptosis by agonistic anti-Fas/Apo-1 antibody, does not confer sensitivity to Apo-2L. Hence, Apo-2L acts via a receptor which is distinct from Fas/Apo-1 and TNF receptors. These results suggest that, along with other family members such as Fas/Apo-1 ligand and TNF, Apo-2L may serve as an extracellular signal that triggers programmed cell death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Oncology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California 94080-4990, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pitti
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Marsters
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruppert
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Donahue
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashkenazi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D053221:TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand; C505653:TNFSF10 protein, human; C505654:Tnfsf10 protein, mouse; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha