Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) constitute a major part of innate immunity, which can distinguish pathogen associate molecular pattern. Sertoli cells create a special immunological niche that protects somniferous tubules from auto antigens and pathogens. These cells are the only somatic cells in somniferous that protect testis cells against pathogens. The purpose of this study was to eva...

Members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family are vital to immune function through the sensing of pathogenic agents and initiation of an appropriate immune response. More specifically, tissue and cell specific TLR expression patterns have been correlated with the ability to respond to various pathogenic challenges. Bovine sequence exists for 4 of the 10 human TLR Reference Sequences and no ovi...

Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs, [110]) (nomenclature as agreed by NC-IUPHAR sub-committee on Receptors, [20]) participate in the innate immune response to microbial agents, stimulation of which leads activation intracellular enzymes and regulation gene transcription. PRRs express multiple leucine-rich regions bind a range microbially-derived ligands, termed PAMPs or pathogen-associated mol...

The innate immune response is controlled, in part, by the synergistic interaction of multiple Toll-like receptors (TLRs). This multi-receptor cooperation is responsible for the potent activity of many vaccines, but few tools have been developed to understand the spatio-temporal elements of TLR synergies. In this Communication, we present photo-controlled agonists of TLR7/8. By strategically pro...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are membrane-bound sensors that detect and respond to microbial infection. Two studies in Cell, one in this issue, reveal how TLRs recognize their ligands. Kim et al. (2007) recently reported the structure of TLR4 bound to the accessory protein MD-2 and its antagonist, the drug eritoran. In this issue, Jin et al. (2007) describe the crystal structure of a complex betw...

B cells and antigen-presenting cells express a group of intracellular Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that recognize nucleic acids and can be accessed only when apoptotic debris or immune complexes are internalized by B-cell receptors or Fc receptors. This results in rapid cell activation and release of inflammatory mediators that perpetuate the autoantibody response. TLR-7 and TLR-9 are required to...

The signal pathways that trigger tumor cell escape from immune surveillance are incompletely understood. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which activate innate and adaptive immune responses, are thought to be restricted to immune cells. We show here that TLRs, including TLR4, are expressed on tumor cells from a wide variety of tissues, suggesting that TLR activation may be an important event in tumo...