Tumor necrosis factors-alpha and -beta bind to the same two types of tumor necrosis factor receptors and maximally activate the transcription factor NF-kappa B at low receptor occupancy and within minutes after receptor binding.

HL60 cells have types A and B tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors whereas HEp2 cells have only the type B receptor (Hohmann, H.-P., Remy, R., Brockhaus, M., and van Loon, A.P.G.M. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 14927-14934). TNF-beta can be cross-linked to each of these receptors and competes with TNF-alpha for binding to both receptors. TNF-alpha and TNF-beta activate the transcription factor NF-kappa B in HL60 and HEp2 cells. Maximal activation of NF-kappa B required binding of TNF-alpha or TNF-beta to 20-25% of the total number of TNF receptors and was achieved within minutes after the addition of TNF-alpha to HL60 cells. Both TNF-alpha and TNF-beta activate NF-kappa B at 5-10-fold lower concentrations in HL60 cells compared with HEp2 cells, and this correlates well with their different affinities for binding to these cells. Thus, TNF-alpha and TNF-beta are indistinguishable with respect to the correlation between degrees of receptor binding and activation of NF-kappa B.