title: VEGI, a new member of the TNF family activates nuclear factor-kappa B and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and modulates cell growth.
abstract: Recently a new member of the human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family named as VEGI was reported. However, very little is known about the biological activities displayed by this cytokine. In this report, we show that in myeloid cells VEGI activated the transcription factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) as determined by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay, induced degradation of I kappa B alpha, and nuclear translocation of p65 subunit of NF-kappa B. VEGI also activated NF-kappa B-dependent reporter gene expression. In addition, VEGI activated c-Jun N-terminal kinase. When examined for growth modulatory effects, VEGI inhibited the proliferation of breast carcinoma (MCF-7), epithelial (HeLa), and myeloid (U-937 and ML-1a) tumor cells; and activated caspase-3 leading to PARP cleavage. VEGI-induced cytotoxicity was potentiated by inhibitors of protein synthesis. VEGI also induced proliferation of normal human foreskin fibroblast cells. The activity of VEGI could neither be neutralized by antibodies against TNF, nor could it compete with TNF binding, indicating that the activity of VEGI is not due to TNF and it binds to a distinct receptor. These results suggest that VEGI, a new member of the TNF family, has a signaling pathway similar to TNF and is most likely a multifunctional cytokine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 77030, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Haridas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shrivastava
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ruben
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gentz
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D053380:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 15; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D016328:NF-kappa B; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C117026:TNFSF15 protein, human; D053380:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 15; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases