Measurement of Tumor Necrosis Factor and Lymphotoxins

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily of cytokines plays critical roles in all aspects of the immune response. TNF and the lymphotoxins (LT), LTα and LTβ, are particularly important as major effector cytokines and mediators or lymphoid organ development. One of the classical methods for the measurement of TNF and LTα activity is by demonstrating their ability to lyse certain target cells. A detailed protocol for the measurement of this activity using a highly sensitive indicator cell line is presented. More recently, ELISA assays have been developed to measure the protein concentration of these cytokines in any type of biologic fluid. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.