肿瘤坏死因子(tumor necrosis factor,TNF)受体相关因子(receptor-associated factor,TRAF)家族是一类胞内接头蛋白,能介导TNF受体和Toll-like/IL-1受体超家族成员与多种下游信号通路包括NF—κB(nuclear factor κB)和JNK(Jun N-terminal kinase)的信号传导。TRAF蛋白家族参与调控细胞增殖、分化乃至凋亡等生理过程。由于其在信号通路中的关键作用,TRAFS蛋白的失调与多种疾病的发生相关。本文结合最新的研究进展对TRAFs蛋白家族在信号传导通路中的地位进行介绍,并探讨了TRAFs及其相关蛋白在临床上可能的应用前景。
The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor (TRAF) family is a group of adapter proteins that couple the TNF and Toll-likel/IL-1 receptor family to diverse kinase cascades which ultimately lead to the activation of NF-κB (nuclear factor κB), JNK (Jun N-terminal kinase) and other signaling pathways. TRAFs can join in the regulation of cellular processes ranging from cell proliferation and differentiation to apoptosis. The pleiotropic effects of TRAFs allows the involvement of different TRAF family members in the etiology of a variety of pathologies. We introduce the key role of TRAFs in signal pathways with new research results and discuss the possibility of regarding TRAF-family proteins and the partner proteins as therapeutic approaches in clinic.