Defect of Tumour Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) Production and TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 – Expression in BRCA1 Mutations Carriers

Background. Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a potent cytokine secreted primarily by activated cells from the monocyte/macrophage lineage which exhibits various antitumoral effects including the induction of apoptosis, necrosis, activation of lytic effector cells as well as upregulation of the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) which is of decisive importance in the interaction with lymphokine activated killer cells. Previous studies from our laboratory have indicated impaired production of TNF-α by monocytes as well as decreased expression of ICAM-1 on monocytes derived from patients with various stages of breast cancer.