Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a cytokine that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. TNF-alpha is mainly secreted by macrophages. TNF-alpha is involved in the regulation of many processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis and has been implicated in a variety of diseases including cancer. TNF-alpha is expressed as a single-pass type II membrane protein. A soluble, secreted form is derived from the membrane form by proteolytic processing. The human TNF-alpha Kit is a sandwich ELISA. The capture antibody is a monoclonal human TNF-alpha antibody pre-coated onto the 96-well strip plates provided in the kit. Human test samples and standards of known TNF-alpha concentration are added to these wells and allowed to complex with the bound TNF-alpha antibody. A biotinylated human TNF-alpha polyclonal antibody is then added. This detection antibody binds to the antigen thus completing the sandwich. After washing, an enzyme Avidin-Biotin-Peroxidase complex (ABC) is added which binds to the second antibody. The peroxidase substrate TMB is added to induce a coloured reaction product. The intensity of this coloured product is directly proportional to the concentration of TNF-alpha present in the samples. The purpose of this kit is for quantitative detection of human TNF-alpha in cell culture supernatants, serum, and heparin, EDTA or citrate treated plasma samples only when used as directed. This kit has been configured for research use only and is not to be used in diagnostic or clinical procedures.
