APRIL Active Protein

The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand family. This protein is a ligand for TNFRSF17/BCMA, a member of the TNF receptor family. This protein and its receptor are both found to be important for B cell development. In vitro experiments suggested that this protein may be able to induce apoptosis through its interaction with other TNF receptor family proteins such as TNFRSF6/FAS and TNFRSF14/HVEM. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Some transcripts that skip the last exon of the upstream gene (TNFSF12) and continue into the second exon of this gene have been identified; such read-through transcripts are contained in GeneID 407977, TNFSF12-TNFSF13. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2010]

TNFSF13: Cytokine that binds to TNFRSF13B/TACI and to TNFRSF17/BCMA. May be implicated in the regulation of tumor cell growth. May be involved in monocyte/macrophage-mediated immunological processes. Belongs to the tumor necrosis factor family. 4 isoforms of the human protein are produced by alternative splicing.

Protein type: Cytokine

Chromosomal Location of Human Ortholog: 17p13.1

Cellular Component: nucleoplasm; extracellular space; cytoplasm; cytosol; external side of plasma membrane

Molecular Function: cytokine activity; tumor necrosis factor receptor binding; receptor binding

Biological Process: immunoglobulin production in mucosal tissue; positive regulation of cell proliferation; positive regulation of germinal center formation; gene expression; signal transduction; positive regulation of isotype switching to IgA isotypes