Toll-like receptor 2 in host defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: to be or not to be-that is the question.
Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 is expressed on immune cells and respiratory epithelial cells lining the lung. TLR2 is not critical for protection during acute Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection but it has a significant multi-faceted role in containing chronic infection. This review highlights the contribution of TLR2 to host protection, immune evasion by Mtb and immune regulation during chronic Mtb infection. The TLR2-triggered pro-inflammatory cytokines initiate protective mechanisms and limit Mtb replication while the immune evasion pathways counterattack anti-bacterial effector mechanisms. The immune regulation pathways that are activated dampen TLR2 signaling. The combinatorial effect of these functional responses is persistence of Mtb with minimal immunopathology.
Department of Medicine, Center for Emerging Pathogens, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
Archana
A
Gopalakrishnan
Department of Medicine, Center for Emerging Pathogens, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA. Electronic address: padmini.salgame@rutgers.edu.
Padmini
P
Salgame
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007249:Inflammation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*
D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2