title: Toll-like receptors in brain development and homeostasis.
abstract: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are best known as initiators of the innate immune response to pathogens. Recent reports now reveal intriguing roles for TLRs in the central nervous system (CNS). These include the regulation of neuroinflammation and of neurite outgrowth. The archetypal Toll protein in Drosophila melanogaster was implicated in the development of the nervous system. Now similar functions have been uncovered for the mammalian orthologs, the TLRs. TLRs expressed on CNS glia and neurons may recognize endogenous ligands and participate both in development and in responses associated with CNS injury.
authors.affiliation: Medical Biotechnology Center, University of Southern Denmark, Winsloewparken 25, Odense C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Holm
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Owens
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006706:Homeostasis; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*