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TNF triggers mitogenic signals in NIH 3T3 cells, but induces apoptosis when the cell cycle is blocked Volume 18, issue 4, December 2007

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Authors
Instituto Universitario de Oncología del Principado de Asturias and Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Spain, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612, USA

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is known to be a mediator of a variety of cellular responses including apoptotic death or proliferation depending on the target cell and the environmental conditions. We show here that TNF triggers both growth and death signals in NIH3T3 murine fibroblasts. In cells arrested in G 0 by serum deprivation, TNF drives approximately 50% of them to enter the cell cycle, but kills the cells that remain quiescent. The presence of serum prevents toxic effects of TNF, suggesting that TNF can cooperate to drive cells through the cell cycle, but is unable to do so by itself or alternatively it triggers death signals in cells unable to proliferate. Interestingly, TNF induces a similar toxic effect in cells forced to stay at the G 1/S border, S or M phases. We have explored the TNF apoptotic pathway in arrested cells. This mechanism is not due to the loss of the anti-apoptotic capacity of NFκB, and is mediated by mitochondria since Bcl-2 overexpression partially inhibits cell death. There are, however, interesting differences in the kinetics of mitochondrial events, which indicate that this form of sensitization to TNF leads to an apoptotic mechanism different from that observed after sensitization by RNA synthesis inhibition.