Mouse lymphotoxin and tumor necrosis factor: structural analysis of the cloned genes, physical linkage, and chromosomal position.

Lymphotoxin (LT) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are cytotoxic and immunoregulatory lymphokines which have similar activities but are produced by different cell types. We have cloned the murine LT and TNF genes from a lambda:mouse DNA recombinant library, using as probes synthetic oligonucleotides defined by portions of the human LT or TNF cDNA sequences. Analysis of the genomic clones indicates that the LT and TNF genes are physically linked, i.e., approximately 1.2 kb separates the 3' end of LT from the 5' end of TNF genes. By using, first, a series of recombinant inbred lines, and second, a series of H-2-recombinant congenic strains, we determined that the LT/TNF gene cluster lies on chromosome 17, closely linked to the H-2D end of the murine H-2 complex. Comparison of the primary sequence of murine and human LT revealed that the intron-exon structure of murine LT is similar in these two species. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of murine and human LT indicates that the proteins are about 72% homologous with much greater sequence conservation in regions encoding the COOH-terminal portion. Comparison of the 5' flanking sequence of LT to a number of genes that are specifically expressed in activated T cells reveals a number of conserved sequences that may play a role in control of these genes.