Activation of nuclear factor κB in human neuroblastoma cell lines

The nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) is a eukaryotic transcription factor. In B cells and macrophages it is constitutively present in cell nuclei, whereas in many other cell types, NF-κB translocates from cytosol to nucleus as a result of transduction by tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), phorbol ester, and other polyclonal signals. Using neuroblastoma cell lines as models, we have shown that in neural cells NF-κB was present in the cytosol and translocated into nuclei as a result of TNFα treatment. The TNFα-activated NF-κB was transcriptionally functional. NF-κB activation by TNFα was not correlated with cell differentiation or proliferation