TNFR1 is associated with short-term mortality in patients with diabetes and acute dyspnea seeking care at the emergency department

Exploring TNFR1: from discovery to targeted therapy development

This review seeks to elucidate the therapeutic potential of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) and enhance our comprehension of its role in disease mechanisms. As a critical cell-surface receptor, TNFR1 regulates key signaling pathways, such as nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which are associated with pro-inflammatory responses and cell death. The intricate regulatory mechanisms of TNFR1 signaling and its involvement in various diseases, including inflammatory disorders, infectious diseases, cancer, and metabolic syndromes, have attracted increasing scholarly attention. Given the potential risks associated with targeting tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), selective inhibition of the TNFR1 signaling pathway has been proposed as a promising strategy to reduce side effects and enhance therapeutic efficacy. This review emphasizes the emerging field of targeted therapies aimed at selectively modulating TNFR1 activity, identifying promising therapeutic strategies that exploit TNFR1 as a drug target through an evaluation of current clinical trials and preclinical studies. In conclusion, this study contributes novel insights into the biological functions of TNFR1 and presents potential therapeutic strategies for clinical application, thereby having substantial scientific and clinical significance.

Transcripts with high distal heritability mediate genetic effects on complex metabolic traits

Although many genes are subject to local regulation, recent evidence suggests that complex distal regulation may be more important in mediating phenotypic variability. To assess the role of distal gene regulation in complex traits, we combined multi-tissue transcriptomes with physiological outcomes to model diet-induced obesity and metabolic disease in a population of Diversity Outbred mice. Using a novel high-dimensional mediation analysis, we identified a composite transcriptome signature that summarized genetic effects on gene expression and explained 30% of the variation across all metabolic traits. The signature was heritable, interpretable in biological terms, and predicted obesity status from gene expression in an independently derived mouse cohort and multiple human studies. Transcripts contributing most strongly to this composite mediator frequently had complex, distal regulation distributed throughout the genome. These results suggest that trait-relevant variation in transcription is largely distally regulated, but is nonetheless identifiable, interpretable, and translatable across species.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors: Pleiotropic Signaling Complexes and Their Differential Effects

Since its discovery in 1975, TNFα has been a subject of intense study as it plays significant roles in both immunity and cancer. Such attention is well deserved as TNFα is unique in its engagement of pleiotropic signaling via its two receptors: TNFR1 and TNFR2. Extensive research has yielded mechanistic insights into how a single cytokine can provoke a disparate range of cellular responses, from proliferation and survival to apoptosis and necrosis. Understanding the intracellular signaling pathways induced by this single cytokine via its two receptors is key to further revelation of its exact functions in the many disease states and immune responses in which it plays a role. In this review, we describe the signaling complexes formed by TNFR1 and TNFR2 that lead to each potential cellular response, namely, canonical and non-canonical NF-κB activation, apoptosis and necrosis. This is followed by a discussion of data from in vivo mouse and human studies to examine the differential impacts of TNFR1 versus TNFR2 signaling.