Tumour necrosis factor.

Tumour necrosis factor, TNF, possesses the attributes of a typical cytokine, being a pleiotropic cell regulatory protein whose activity is largely determined by the cell type to which it binds and the presence of other protein regulators. Thus TNF can be a growth factor, cytotoxin, cytostatic agent or inducer of differentiation. This cytokine is also an important inflammatory mediator regulating the activity of neutrophils, eosinophils, T and B lymphocytes and modulating the properties of the vascular endothelium. All of these actions may play a role in the ability of TNF to induce necrosis of experimental animal tumours, but the potential of this cytokine in therapy of human cancer is uncertain. The increasing evidence for a role for TNF in the pathophysiology of acute and chronic disease makes the use of specific TNF antagonists an equally interesting therapeutic possibility.