MAP kinase-activating death domain protein is an
enzyme
Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''MADD''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
.
Tumor necrosis factor alpha
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin, or cachectin; formerly known as tumor necrosis factor alpha or TNF-α) is an adipokine and a cytokine. TNF is a member of the TNF superfamily, which consists of various transmembrane proteins with a homolog ...
(TNF-alpha) is a signaling molecule that interacts with one of two receptors on cells targeted for
apoptosis
Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...
. The apoptotic signal is transduced inside these cells by cytoplasmic adaptor proteins. The protein encoded by this gene is a death domain-containing adaptor protein that interacts with the death domain of TNF-alpha receptor 1 to activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and propagate the apoptotic signal. It is membrane-bound and expressed at a higher level in neoplastic cells than in normal cells. Several transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described for this gene.
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