Bone‑related diseases, such as osteoporosis or rheumatoid arthritis, affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and pose a tremendous burden to health care. By deepening our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of bone metabolism and bone turnover, it became possible over the past...

Glucocorticoid‑Induced TNFR‑Related (GITR) protein belongs to Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily (TNFRSF) and stimulates both the acquired and innate immunity. It is expressed in several cells and tissues, including T and Natural Killer (NK) cells and is activated by its ligand,...

TNFRSF21 (death receptor‑6, DR6) is an orphan TNF receptor superfamily member and belongs to a subgroup of receptors called death receptors. DR6 is expressed ubiquitously with high expression in lymphoid organs, heart, brain and pancreas. Ectopic expression of DR6 in some cell lines leads to...

The transmembrane receptor CD30 (TNFRSF8) and its ligand CD30L (CD153, TNFSF8) are members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily and display restricted expression in subpopulations of activated T‑and B‑cells in nonpathologic conditions. CD30 expression is upregulated in various...

4‑1BB (CD137) is being thought of as an attractive target for immunotherapy of many human immune diseases based on encouraging results with 4‑1BB agonistic antibody treatment in mouse models of cancer, autoimmune disease, asthma and additionally as a means to improve vaccination. In this...

Tumor necrosis factor‑a (TNF‑a) was first isolated two decades ago as a macrophage-produced protein that can effectively kill tumor cells. TNF‑a is also an essential component of the immune system and is required for hematopoiesis, for protection from bacterial infection and for immune...

The interaction between OX40 and OX40L plays an important role in antigen‑specific T‑cell expansion and survival. While OX40 is expressed predominantly on T-lymphocytes early after antigen activation, OX40L is expressed on activated antigen presenting cells and endothelial cells within acute...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑related cytokines function as key communication systems between cells of the immune system and mediate inflammation and tissue destruction. LIGHT (TNFSF14) is a key component of the communication system that controls the responses of T‑Cells. LIGHT activates two...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), also known as Apo2L, is a member of the TNF superfamily (TNFSF) of cytokines. TRAIL gained much attention during the past decade due to the demonstration of its therapeutic potential as a tumor-specific apoptosis inducer....

Vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI, TNFSF‑15) is a novel member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily that consists of 174 amino acids and exhibits a 20% to 30% sequence homology to other members of the TNF superfamily. The VEGI gene is expressed as a transmembrane protein...

BLyS and APRIL are tumor necrosis factor superfamily members shown to be important for B‑cell development, maturation and survival. Recent data also indicate that these cytokines regulate the survival and maintenance of malignant B‑cells in cancer patients. The key role of BLyS/APRIL in the...

CD40 was originally identified as a receptor on B-cells that delivers contact‑dependent T helper signals to B-cells through interaction with CD40 ligand (CD40L, CD154). The pivotal role played by CD40‑CD40L interaction is illustrated by the defects in B‑lineage cell development and the...

The FS7‑associated cell surface antigen (Fas, also named CD95, APO‑1 or TNFRSF6) attracted considerable interest in the field of apoptosis research since its discovery in 1989. The groups of Shin Yonehara and Peter Krammer were the first reporting extensive apoptotic cell death induction upon...

Since the discovery of tumor necrosis factor TNFa about 25 years ago, TNF superfamily has grown to a large family of related proteins consisting of over 20 members that signal through over 30 receptors. Members of this superfamily have wide tissue distribution and play important roles ranging...

Expression of CD70, a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily, is restricted to activated T‑ and B‑lymphocytes and mature dendritic cells. Binding of CD70 to its receptor, CD27, is important in priming, effector functions, differentiation and memory formation of T‑cells as well as...