Figure 1. NF-κB oscillation is regulated by an auto-regulatory negative feedback loop.

Simplified schematic overview of the TNFα-induced canonical NF-κB response. TNFα binding to the TNF receptor (TNFR) activates the inhibitor of kappa-B kinase (IKK) complex, leading to phosphorylation of the inhibitor of NF-κB, IκB, upon which NF-κB is free to enter the nucleus to activate transcription of its target genes. One of the primary NF-κB target genes is IκB, which may retrieve NF-κB from the nucleus to maintain inactive IκB::NF-κB complex in the cytoplasm. Ongoing TNFR signaling can re-initiate the induction-inhibition cycle.