Dynamic change of TNIK in response to tumor necrosis factor alpha in a TRAF2-dependent manner

TNIK (TRAF2- and NCK-interacting kinase) was named because of its association with TRAF2 (tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 2). But the relationship between TNIK and TRAF2 is still elusive, in addition to which the involvement of TNIK in JNK activation by TNFα hints that there maybe a linkage between TNIK and TRAF2. In this work, we illustrated that TNIK protein levels were dynamic in response to TNFα stimulation in an ubiquitin-dependent manner. Further study showed that TRAF2 negatively modulated the levels of TNIK by regulating the ubiquitin conjugation. In conclusion, our data may give evidence that dynamic change of TNIK offers a way to protect cells from outside stimulus.