Toll-like receptors signaling pathway

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are integral membrane bound receptors that are vital for innate immunity and help to shape the adaptive immune response.

• Generate robust anti-microbial and pro-inflammatory responses at sites of possible infection or danger.
• Trigger the release of anti-microbial peptides, diverse arrays of cytokines and chemokines and reactive oxygen species.
• Induce cellular responses, such as phagocytosis and macropinocytosis, for increased uptake from the surrounding milieu and pathogen ingestion, whereas TLR-mediated cell survival, death and proliferation responses all contribute to an expansive adaptive immune response ⁽²⁾.

TLRs are involved in a wide spectrum of diseases ⁽¹⁾ :
• Chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD)
• Autoimmune disease like Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Sjogren’s syndrome.
• TLRs participation in cancers acts as double-edge swords; their activation can regress the tumor growth or conversely promote the tumor cells. TLRs participates in breast cancer ⁽³⁾, lung cancer, neuroblastoma, colorectal cancer, thyroid carcinomas ⁽⁴⁾, hepatocellular, nasopharyngeal and prostate cancer ⁽⁵⁾.