title: [Recent advances in innate immune host defense--hose defense lectins and endotoxin receptors].
abstract: Accumulating evidence has revealed that CD14 and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) function as pattern recognition receptors for broad ranges of pathogens. The structural characteristics of these proteins is that they possess leucine-rich repeats, which appear to be involved in protein-protein interaction. We have shown that the extracellular TLR2 domain directly binds to peptidoglycan (PGN) which is abundant in the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria and that the N-terminal region of TLR2 is critical for the recognition of PGN. Surfactant proteins A and D (pulmonary collectins) function as host defense lectins and play important roles in innate immunity in the lung-Collectins including SP-A, SP-D and mannose-binding proteins can bind CD14. We have demonstrated that SP-A modulates the cellular response to smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides (LPS) by interaction with CD14. In addition, this protein has been revealed to function as a negative regulator against PGN-induced TNF-alpha secretion from macrophages through direct interaction with TLR2. We propose that SP-A modulates inflammatory responses against the bacterial components by interaction with pattern-recognition receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuroki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D037222:Collectins; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D037102:Lectins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000502:physiology; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000502:physiology; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D037222:Collectins; D037102:Lectins; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; C048071:endotoxin receptor