Date: January 6, 1992, pp.16
C.A. Smith, T. Davis, D. Anderson, L. Solam, et al., "A receptor for tumor necrosis factor defines an unusual family of cellular and viral proteins," Science, 248:1019- 23, 1990. (MOLECULAR BIOLOGY) Craig Smith (Immunex Corp., Seattle):
"There are three reasons why the molecular cloning of this tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor has turned out to be a reasonable milestone.
"First, there is the intrinsic scientific interest. TNF is an outstanding mediator of host immune defense whose signal transduction mechanisms have been impossible to investigate without a cloned receptor.
"Further, the receptor's unusual sequence also defined an emerging superfamily of transmembrane proteins that network important elements of both the immune and nervous systems. The low-affinity nerve growth-factor receptor and the TNF receptor are only two of eight currently known family members. There seems little question, therefore, that this newest of gene superfamilies figures predominantly in the ...
