bri3 was identified to be a novel gene up-regulated in TNF-treated cells with suppressed subtractive hybridization (SSH) in our laboratory. Previous studies showed that overexpression of BRI3 induced apoptosis in L929 cells. To further study the function of bri3, we disrupted its expression by expressing bri3 antisense RNA. The antisense RNA promoted resistance to TNF-induced cell death by more than 1000-fold in L929 cells, suggesting the involvement of BRI3 in TNF-induced cell death in this cell line. Analysis of cell death caused by other apoptotic inducers showed that the effect of BRI3 antisense RNA is highly specific to TNF-induced cell death. Taken together, bri3 appears to play an important role in TNF-induced cell death. Finally, we reported here that BRI3 may be localized to lysosome and function through lysosome.