Toward a structural understanding of nucleic acid‐sensing Toll‐like receptors in the innate immune system

摘要

The history of mankind has been plagued by the tug of war with viral infections. Toll‐like receptors ( TLR s) and other receptors of the innate immune system constitute an early defense system against invading viruses by recognizing the viral genetic material, the nucleic acids ( NA s). Agonistic ligands of NA ‐sensing TLR s play an emerging role in the treatment of viral diseases, demonstrating a crucial role of these receptors. Recently, crystal structures have afforded new insights into TLR recognition of NA s. An aberrant activation by self‐ NA s, which leads to the inflammation and autoimmunity, is avoided by strict regulation of NA – TLR interaction at multiple check‐points. This Review summarizes the novel structural understanding of NA ‐sensing by TLR s and regulatory mechanisms of these receptors.