TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand
Meaning of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand: TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand, or TRAIL, is a natural immune protein that triggers programmed cell death in certain abnormal or infected cells.
Definition of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand
TNF related apoptosis inducing ligand, abbreviated TRAIL and also called Apo-2L, is a naturally occurring protein belonging to the tumor necrosis factor family, produced by several types of immune cells, including natural killer cells. TRAIL works by binding to specific death receptors on the surface of a target cell, triggering a signaling cascade that leads to apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death.
TRAIL is understood to play a role in normal immune surveillance, helping the immune system recognize and eliminate virus infected cells and cells that have become abnormal, including some cancer cells, while generally sparing healthy normal cells, which express fewer of the receptors TRAIL targets.
Because of this apparent selectivity for abnormal cells, therapies designed to activate the TRAIL pathway directly have been studied as a potential cancer treatment, though no such therapy has yet become an established part of standard cancer treatment.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Laboratory research examined TRAIL expression within the tumor sample as part of an investigational treatment study.
Good to know
TRAIL's natural role in immune surveillance is well established, but therapies designed to harness the TRAIL pathway directly against cancer remain investigational rather than an established treatment option.
Word origin
Where “TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand” comes from
Apoptosis derives from Greek apo-, meaning away, and ptosis, meaning falling, together describing programmed cell death as a falling away of cells, similar to leaves falling from a tree.