TRUNDD, a new member of the TRAIL receptor family that antagonizes TRAIL signalling

TRAIL/Apo-2L induces rapid Apoptosis of a variety of tumor cell lines. A family of tumor necrosis factor receptor-related molecules have been identified as receptors for TRAIL. Herein, we report the identification of another member of the TRAIL receptor family, TRUNDD (TRAIL receptor with a truncated death domain). The TRUNDD transcript was detected in multiple human tissues. TRUNDD is highly homologous to all known TRAIL receptors and has an extracellular TRAIL-binding domain but lacks a functional intracellular death domain and does not induce Apoptosis. Consistent with an inhibitory role, ectopic expression of TRUNDD attenuated TRAIL-induced Apoptosis in mammalian cells.