Receptor-interacting protein (RIP) has been implicated in the induction of death receptor-mediated, nonapoptotic cell death. However, the mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here we show that tumor necrosis factor alpha induced RIP-dependent inhibition of adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT)-conducted transport of ADP into mitochondria, which resulted in reduced ATP and necrotic cell death. The inhibition of ADP/ATP exchange coincided with the loss of interaction between ANT and cyclophilin D and the inability of ANT to adopt the cytosolic conformational state, which prevented cytochrome c release. Neither overexpression of Bcl-x L nor inhibition of reactive oxygen species prevented necrosis. In contrast, the ectopic expression of ANT or cyclophilin D was effective at preventing cell death. These observations demonstrate a novel mechanism initiated through death receptor ligation and mediated by RIP that results in the suppression of ANT activity and necrosis.Receptor Interacting Protein 1 (RIP) is essential for both tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣)-and Fas-mediated 21), which may protect against apoptotic cell death by the expression of survival genes such as FLIP (36). However, in certain cell types, when caspase activation is prevented, even when NF-B activation is not suppressed, the ligation of TNFR1 or Fas results in necrotic cell death by a mechanism that involves RIP (16,25). Although reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated (25), the mechanism(s) by which RIP may mediate necrotic cell death remains to be elucidated. Characterizing the mechanisms which regulate this process is important, since necrosis is observed in a variety of pathogenic infections, ischemia, and inflammatory conditions (38) and since caspase inhibition resulted in TNF-␣-induced shock (6). This understanding is particularly important for monocytic cells and macrophages, which express both Fas and Fas ligand (36) and produce abundant TNF-␣.Modulation of the life-supporting functions of mitochondria, such as maintaining internal homeostasis and ATP synthesis, may be involved in regulation of caspase-dependent and caspase-independent cell death (13, 17, 35). Mitochondrial synthesis of ATP requires ADP transport from cytosol into mitochondria by the inner mitochondrial membrane ADP/ ATP carrier adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) (11). ADP/ ATP exchange depends on transition between two conformational states of ANT. In the cytosolic state (c-state) the hydrophilic loop of the ANT nucleotide binding site faces the cytosol, while in the m-state, this binding site faces the matrix (11,30). Additionally, ANT function may depend on other mitochondrial molecules, including VDAC, hexokinase, and cyclophilin D (47). The interaction of ANT with cyclophilin D and VDAC is important in regulating mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). Although recent studies have demonstrated that ANT may not be essential for MPTP formation (20), cyclophilin D-deficient mice provide strong evidence that cyclophilin D plays a critical role no...