Direct evidence for an intracellular role for tumor necrosis factor-alpha 1. Microinjection of tumor necrosis factor kills target cells.

TNF-alpha is a small peptide cytokine produced primarily by activated macrophages. One of the many biologic activities of TNF is the killing of diverse types of tumor cells. We considered the possibility that killing was mediated by TNF itself at an intracellular site, subsequent to receptor-mediated endocytosis. To test this hypothesis, we microinjected TNF into various murine normal cells and cell lines, some of which were killed by TNF given by the usual extracellular route, and others that were not. Cytotoxic effects of microinjected TNF were observed in several cell types 2 to 4 h after injection. L929 fibroblasts were killed by either extracellular or intracellular TNF. A TNF-resistant subline of L929 was insensitive to either extracellular or intracellular TNF. L6 fibroblasts were found to be resistant to high doses of TNF given either extracellularly or microinjected. Normal macrophages and the J774 macrophage-like cell line were not killed by extracellular TNF, but were rapidly killed by microinjected TNF. Thus, TNF, an extracellular peptide ligand, has an intracellular activity, suggesting that internalization of this ligand may have important intracellular biochemical roles.