The cytokine tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis and its receptor fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 have a neuroprotective effect in the central nervous system

The cytokine tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis and its receptor fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 have a neuroprotective effect in the central nervous system

Journal of Neuroinflammation, March 2012

22394384

Ramiro Echeverry, Fang Wu, Woldeab B Haile, Jialing Wu, Manuel Yepes

Cerebral cortical neurons have a high vulnerability to the harmful effects of hypoxia. However, the brain has the ability to detect and accommodate to hypoxic conditions. This phenomenon, known as preconditioning, is a natural adaptive process highly preserved among species whereby exposure to sub-lethal hypoxia promotes the acquisition of tolerance to a subsequent lethal hypoxic injury. The cytokine tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its receptor fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) are found in neurons and their expression is induced by exposure to sub-lethal hypoxia. Accordingly, in this work we tested the hypothesis that the interaction between TWEAK and Fn14 induces tolerance to lethal hypoxic and ischemic conditions.