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J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 188, Number 6, September 21, 1998 1185-1190
By


From the * Institute of Biochemistry, the Members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family induce pleiotropic biological responses, including cell growth, differentiation, and even death. Here we describe a novel member of the
TNF family designated APRIL (for a proliferation-inducing ligand). Although transcripts of
APRIL are of low abundance in normal tissues, high levels of mRNA are detected in transformed cell lines, and in human cancers of colon, thyroid, and lymphoid tissues in vivo. The
addition of recombinant APRIL to various tumor cells stimulates their proliferation. Moreover,
APRIL-transfected NIH-3T3 cells show an increased rate of tumor growth in nude mice compared with the parental cell line. These findings suggest that APRIL may be implicated in the
regulation of tumor cell growth.
Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch,
University of Lausanne, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland; the § Swiss Institute for Experimental
Cancer Research, BIL Research Centre, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland; and the
Department of
Dermatology, University of Geneva, Medical School, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
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