tumor necrosis factor

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A protein that is produced in the presence of an endotoxin, especially by monocytes and macrophages, is able to destroy tumor cells, and exacerbates chronic inflammatory diseases by inducing inflammation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun medicine Any of several polypeptide hormones, produced by macrophages, that can destroy some cancer cells

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a proinflammatory cytokine that is produced by white blood cells (monocytes and macrophages); has an antineoplastic effect but causes inflammation (as in rheumatoid arthritis)