title: Pivotal advance: endogenous pathway to SIRS, sepsis, and related conditions.
abstract: TLRs are usually thought to recognize substances produced by microorganisms and thus, to initiate host defenses. This concept, however, fails to explain some functions of this family of receptors. Recognition of endogenous substances may explain the broader functions of TLRs in physiology and disease. Activation of TLRs by endogenous substances necessitates vigorous control of the function of the receptors. This communication will summarize a line of research, which points to an endogenous agonist for TLR4 and a putative mechanism for controlling the function of that receptor.
authors.affiliation: Transplantation Biology Program, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Amy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Gregory J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Brunn
authors.forename: Marilia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cascalho
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Platt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D018805:Sepsis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018746:Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000819:agonists / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006497:Heparan Sulfate; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors