Lymphotoxin beta is a type II membrane protein of the TNF family. It anchors lymphotoxin-alpha to the cell surface through heterotrimer formation. The predominant form on the lymphocyte surface is the lymphotoxin-alpha 1/beta 2 complex (e.g. 1 molecule alpha/2 molecules beta) and this complex is the primary ligand for the lymphotoxin-beta receptor. The minor complex is lymphotoxin-alpha 2/beta 1. LTB is an inducer of the inflammatory response system and involved in normal development of lymphoid tissue. Lymphotoxin-beta isoform b is unable to complex with lymphotoxin-alpha suggesting a function for lymphotoxin-beta which is independent of lympyhotoxin-alpha. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],function:Cytokine that binds to LTBR/TNFRSF3. May play a specific role in immune response regulation. Provides the membrane anchor for the attachment of the heterotrimeric complex to the cell surface. Isoform 2 is probably non-functional.,similarity:Belongs to the tumor necrosis factor family.,subunit:Heterotrimer of either two LTB and one LTA subunits or (less prevalent) one LTB and two LTA subunits.,tissue specificity:Spleen and thymus.,
