title: Microbial nucleic acids pay a Toll in kidney disease.
abstract: Nucleic acids provide more than the genetic code that determines the morphological and functional phenotype of microbes and eukaryotes. In fact, nucleic acids have immunomodulatory functions as they are recognized by a set of pattern-recognition receptors that initiate and modulate immune responses in the host. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 recognizes double-stranded RNA, TLR7 and TLR8 recognize single-stranded RNA, CpG-DNA is a ligand for TLR9, and all of these TLRs are expressed in the nephritic kidney. In this review, we summarize recent advances in this field and discuss new hypotheses for the pathogenesis of kidney diseases that are triggered by infectious organisms.
authors.affiliation: Nephrological Center, Medical Policlinic, University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Rahul D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Pawar
authors.forename: Prashant S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Patole
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wörnle
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Anders
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3 / Q000502:physiology; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7 / Q000502:physiology; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8 / Q000502:physiology; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9 / Q000502:physiology; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000502:physiology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012367:RNA, Viral; D051196:Toll-Like Receptor 3; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8; D051217:Toll-Like Receptor 9; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors