Microvascular endothelial cells were isolated from gerbil brain and cultured. These cells retained an endothelial-specific marker, FVIII-related antigen. Alkaline phosphatase activity was also present in early passage. Two weeks after plating, these cells were attached to the culture dishes and had become like cobblestones in appearance. Then, the addition of tumor necrosis factor at a concentration of 1000 U/ml or more suppressed the DNA synthesis activity of endothelial cells by about 70% and induced morphological changes in the cells, which developed a spindle-like form and showed overlapping of cells, indicating loss of contact inhibition. The administration of interferon-tau induced no change. When a similar experiment was performed using culture supernatants of human glioma cells that had been cultured for a few days, DNA synthesis activity was suppressed by approximately 50% or more in 6 of 12 samples. The suppression of activity, however, was abolished by the addition of anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody in these 6 cases, suggesting the presence of activity resembling that of the tumor necrosis factor in the culture supernatants.