Thus the pathophysiology of allergic asthma is traditionally explained by mast celland/or Th2 cell-mediated airway inflammation, which is a manifestation of the acquired immune response. On the other hand, recent studies have identified various other important molecules associated with phenotypes of asthma, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)[2, 3] , thymic stromal lymphoprotein [4, 5] , inte...

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF, TNFSF2) is an important multifunctional cytokine that regulates inflammation, host defense, immune responses, and apoptosis. TNF exists as a membrane-bound 26kDa, type II integral membrane protein, and a 17kDa soluble homotrimeric TNF that is generated via proteolytic cleavage by TNF-a converting enzyme (TACE, ADAM17). Both the membrane-bound and soluble forms ...

The hyperlipidemia accompanying infection has been attributed to production of tumor necrosis factor. This cytokine inhibits adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase, which could decrease clearance of lipoproteins. Infections also increase hepatic lipogenesis. We now have demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor-alpha stimulates lipid synthesis in vivo. 2 h after administration of tumor necrosis factor...