The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor (TRAF) family consists of six mammalian members,and is shown to participate in signal transduction of a large number of receptor families including TNF receptor family (TNFR) and Toll-like receptors-interleukin-1 receptors (TLR-IL-1R) family.Upon receptor activation,TRAFs are directly or indirectly recruited to the intracellular domains of these receptors.They subsequently engage other signaling proteins to activate inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK) complex,TRAF family member-associated NF-κB activator (TANK)-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and inducible I κB kinase (IKK-i) (also known as IKKε),ultimately leading to activation of transcription factors such as NF-κB and interferon-regulatory factor (IRF) to induce immune and inflammatory responses.
WANG YaYa1,ZHANG Peng2,LIU YingFang2 & CHENG GenHong1 1 Department of Microbiology,Immunology & Molecular Genetics,University of California Los Angeles,609 Charles E.Young Drive East,Los Angeles,California 90095,USA