Research on the production site of tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) is an active component of serum taken from Corynebacterium parvum (C. parvum) infected mice treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). To locate the production site of TNF, we tried to block TNF production by using the following reagents; carrageenan, hydrocortisone, and trypan blue. Following the injection of a large dose of carrageenan, administered before C. parvum treatment, TNF production was completely blocked. However, when administered after C. parvum treatment but prior to LPS injection, no blockage was observed. Injecting hydrocortisone before the LPS injection also blocked TNF release. However, this treatment, when administered before the injection of C. parvum, had no observable influence on TNF production. A large dose of trypan blue, administered before the LPS injection, also blocked the release of TNF. A low dose of trypan blue resulted in only partial blockage of TNF production. A large dose of trypan blue, administered prior to C. parvum treatment, also showed partial blockage of TNF production. Macrophage-enriched peritoneal exudate cells (PEC), taken from mice infected with C. parvum, released TNF into the supernatant after stimulation with LPS. These results strongly suggest that the production site of TNF is located within the activated macrophage and deeply related with lysosome.