TOLL样受体9在动脉粥样硬化中的作用研究进展

动脉粥样硬化是一种慢性免疫炎症性疾病,它与自身的先天性免疫和适应性免疫密切相关。Toll样受体(Toll-like receptors,TLR)作为激活非特异性免疫的重要受体蛋白,可以识别病原微生物,激活免疫反应。Toll样受体9是TLR家族中的重要一员,是先天免疫系统中识别细菌和病毒Cp G DNA的重要受体,其与动脉粥样硬化(atherosclerosis,AS)的发生发展紧密相关。研究发现,TLR9与动脉粥样硬化的发生、发展(内皮受损和泡沫化细胞形成)密切相关,但也有研究发现TLR9在AS进程中具有潜在的保护效应。本文对Toll样受体9与动脉粥硬化疾病之间关系做一个简要的阐述,简明的总结了TLR9与树突细胞及自噬之间的联系,并为其作为靶点治疗动脉粥样硬化提供新的思路。     

高等脊椎动物Toll样受体基因分子进化模式研究进展

Toll样受体是高等脊椎动物(包含无颌类到哺乳类)先天性免疫防卫系统中的必要元件,它们负责识别病原微生物,并最终引起宿主动物体内的免疫应答反应。通过研究TLR家族基因的遗传多样性是如何被保留和维持的,有利于了解动物免疫系统在病原微生物选择压力下的适应性进化。第2代测序技术的发展为TLR基因的分子进化模式提供了更丰富的资源。介绍TLR家族基因的结构及功能,着重于该受体基因在高等脊椎动物中的进化模式,从而揭示TLR家族基因在脊椎动物先天性免疫系统的适应性进化中的重要性,并进一步阐明宿主与病原微生物之间的协同进化模式。     

天然免疫识别机制及天然免疫受体的相互调节

NK细胞识别受体(NKR)和Toll样受体(TLR)是天然免疫系统最重要的2个天然免疫识别受体家族,位于机体抵抗外来侵袭的第一道防线.二者各自具有独特的识别外来或内源性的危险信号、区分自我和非我的识别机制,同时又相互协同、相互调节,成为启动免疫应答的关键分子以及连接固有免疫和适应性免疫的桥梁.以NK细胞为载体将TLRs/NKG2连接起来,阐明这2类重要的天然免疫受体间的识别和调节关系,可以较好地反映机体内外环境变化或刺激时固有免疫对适应性免疫的调节作用,并为有效控制感染、炎症、肿瘤及自身免疫性疾病提供崭新的治疗策略.     

Toll样受体4与肝损伤的研究进展

Toll样受体4((toll like receptor4,TLR4)是内毒素(LPS)的关键受体,为Toll蛋白家族中的一个成员,是联系固有免疫和适应性免疫的纽带。TLR4主要表达于髓源性细胞,其启动的胞内信号转导在肝损伤的发生和发展过程中发挥重要作用。这一信号转导途径主要通过NF-κB、p38、JNK等的激活,使细胞产生炎症转录因子,介导肝脏炎症。TLR4与氧化应激的相互作用,使得肝脏对TLR4的配体及细胞因子的敏感性增加,从而加重肝脏损伤。随着TLR4在肝损伤中的作用进一步阐明,其在肝脏疾病中的治疗作用将会产生广阔的应用前景。     

Toll样受体10作为抗炎模式识别受体在感染性疾病中的作用

Toll样受体10(toll-like receptor 10,TLR10)是由人类TLR10基因编码的一种蛋白质,与TLR1和TLR6的氨基酸的组成高度同源,属于TLR2亚家族。同其他TLR一样,TLR10是参与固有性免疫的一种主要蛋白质分子,也是连接固有性免疫和特异性免疫的重要桥梁。TLR10是一种病原相关分子模式识别受体,可与TLR1或TLR2形成异源二聚体,并在感染性疾病的免疫反应中起重要作用。最新研究证明,TLR10的表达能够抑制TLR2介导的免疫反应,而TLR10的基因变异又可影响其表达水平。现就国内外对TLR10的结构、功能及其基因多态性在感染性疾病中所起的作用的研究作一概述。     

鱼类和哺乳类TLR4基因结构和功能的保守与进化

先天性免疫是生物体第一道免疫防线,存在于各种多细胞生物中。Toll样受体(Toll-like receptors,TLRs)是介导机体对病原体相关的分子模式(Pathogen-associated molecular patterns,PAMPs)识别的一类模式识别受体(pattern recognition receptors,PPRs),在先天性免疫中发挥重要作用。TLR4是toll家族成员之一,哺乳类中主要负责识别细菌的脂多糖(lipopolysaccharide,LPS)。文章就TLR4的发现历史,TLR4在鱼类和哺乳类中的结构特点,TLR4的分布特征,鱼类和哺乳类中TLR4识别配体的差异,TLR4的信号传导以及TLR4的进化进行了综述。综述将对TLR相关研究提供借鉴和参考。     

海洋动物Toll样受体的研究进展

Toll样受体(Toll-like receptor,TLR)是先天性免疫系统中古老的模式识别受体家族,一直都是免疫学家研究的焦点。从最古老的后生动物——海绵到高等的海洋脊椎动物——硬骨鱼中都有TLR存在。阐述处于不同进化地位海洋动物的TLR及其信号通路分子,TLR基因结构域混编和多态性机制,有助于揭示脊椎动物TLR的起源和预防海洋经济动物病害。     

Toll样受体通路调节Tregs功能的研究进展

模式识别受体Toll样受体(Toll like receptors,TLRs)是固有免疫中免疫受体的代表,进化上十分保守,对生物体的生存极为重要。TLRs通过内源或外源的配体启动信号转导,激活下游一系列重要的基因表达与活化。研究表明调节性T细胞(Regulatory T cell,Treg)在维持机体外周免疫耐受和阻止移植排斥反应等方面发挥核心作用。Treg细胞表达某些TLRs,包括TLR2、TLR4、TLR5、TLR7、TLR8、TLR9等。TLRs的活化可能直接或间接地影响(主要是活化) Treg的增殖和免疫抑制功能,这种调节与感染、自身免疫病和癌症的发生密切相关。其中热休克蛋白作为TLRs配体分子对于Treg的调节发挥了重要的作用。因此,了解TLRs通路对研究Treg免疫调控机制、新药物研发和靶向治疗有重大意义。文中简要介绍了TLRs通路调节Treg免疫功能的相关研究进展。     

Toll样受体与脑缺血

脑缺血是临床上的常见病,目前已成为导致人类死亡的主要原因之一,脑缺血后存在一个十分复杂的病理生理过程,涉及很多机制。包括离子稳态的破坏,自由基的损伤作用,兴奋性氨基酸的毒性作用,免疫炎症作用和细凋亡等机制。TOLL样受体即TLR(Toll-like receptor TLR),是一类介导天然免疫的跨膜信号传递受体家族,在细胞活化信号传导中发挥着重要作用,已成为联系天然免疫和后天性免疫的桥梁。现在共发现了13中TOLL样体,最近发现Toll样受体能诱发机体的固有免疫应答,介导炎症因子细胞因子的释放,与全身多种重要器官的缺血再灌注损伤有关,研究表明部分TOLL样受体在脑缺血损伤中发挥十分重要的作用。本文就TLR的结构、分布、配体、信号转导通路及其脑缺血中的作用综述如下。     

C型凝集素受体与抗真菌免疫

Toll样受体(TLR)的发现为研究病原生物的识别和免疫应答的起始开辟了新的视角,然而近期研究发现"非-TLR"受体在该过程尤其在抗真菌免疫中亦起着重要作用.其中研究甚为活跃的是C型凝集素受体(CLR)家族的一些成员,包括甘露糖受体、DC-SIGN、Dectin-1、Dectin-2及胶原凝集素.本文对这些受体在真菌识别、摄取、杀伤及其在宿主免疫反应的诱导和调节中所发挥的作用予以综述.     

Codominance of TLR2-dependent and TLR2-independent modulation of MHC class II in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in vivo

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an exceptionally successful human pathogen. A major component of this success is the ability of the bacteria to infect immunocompetent individuals and to evade eradication by an adaptive immune response that includes production of the macrophage-activating cytokine, IFN-gamma. Although IFN-gamma is essential for arrest of progressive tuberculosis, it is insufficient for efficacious macrophage killing of the bacteria, which may be due to the ability of M. tuberculosis to inhibit selected macrophage responses to IFN-gamma. In vitro studies have determined that mycobacterial lipoproteins and other components of the M. tuberculosis cell envelope, acting as agonists for TLR2, inhibit IFN-gamma induction of MHC class II. In addition, M. tuberculosis peptidoglycan and IL-6 secreted by infected macrophages inhibit IFN-gamma induction of MHC class II in a TLR2-independent manner. To determine whether TLR2-dependent inhibition of macrophage responses to IFN-gamma is quantitatively dominant over the TLR2-independent mechanisms in vivo, we prepared mixed bone marrow chimeric mice in which the hemopoietic compartment was reconstituted with a mixture of TLR(+/+) and TLR2(-/-) cells. When the chimeric mice were infected with M. tuberculosis, the expression of MHC class II on TLR2(+/+) and TLR2(-/-) macrophages from the lungs of individual infected chimeric mice was indistinguishable. These results indicate that TLR2-dependent and -independent mechanisms of inhibition of responses to IFN-gamma are equivalent in vivo, and that M. tuberculosis uses multiple pathways to abrogate the action of an important effector of adaptive immunity. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants AI 065357-AI 020010.     

Acylation determines the toll-like receptor (TLR)-dependent positive versus TLR2-, mannose receptor-, and SIGNR1-independent negative regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines by mycobacterial lipomannan

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipomannans (LMs) modulate the host innate immune response. The total fraction of Mycobacterium bovis BCG LM was shown both to induce macrophage activation and pro-inflammatory cytokines through Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages through a TLR2-independent pathway. The pro-inflammatory activity was attributed to tri- and tetra-acylated forms of BCG LM but not the mono- and di-acylated ones. Here, we further characterize the negative activities of M. bovis BCG LM on primary murine macrophage activation. We show that di-acylated LMs exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on cytokine and NO secretion by LPS-activated macrophages. The inhibitory activity of mycobacterial mannose-capped lipoarabino-mannans on human phagocytes was previously attributed to their binding to the C-type lectins mannose receptor or specific intracellular adhesion molecule-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN). However, we found that di-acylated LM inhibition of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor secretion by murine macrophages was independent of TLR2, mannose receptor, or the murine ortholog SIGNR1. We further determined that tri-acyl-LM, an agonist of TLR2/TLR1, promoted interleukin-12 p40 and NO secretion through the adaptor proteins MyD88 and TIRAP, whereas the fraction containing tetra-acylated LM activated macrophages in a MyD88-dependent fashion, mostly through TLR4. TLR4-dependent pro-inflammatory activity was also seen with M. tuberculosis LM, composed mostly of tri-acylated LM, suggesting that acylation degree per se might not be sufficient to determine TLR2 versus TLR4 usage. Therefore, LM acylation pattern determines the anti-inflammatory versus pro-inflammatory effects of LM through different pattern recognition receptors or signaling pathways and may represent an additional mean of regulating the host innate immunity by mycobacteria.     

IL-6 and IL-10 induction from dendritic cells in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis is predominantly dependent on TLR2-mediated recognition

The initial TLR-mediated interaction between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and dendritic cells is critical, since the cytokine production that ensues can greatly influence the class of adaptive immunity that is generated to the pathogen. In this study, we therefore determined the dependency on TLR2 and TLR4 for M. tuberculosis-induced cytokine production by murine dendritic cells. A key new finding of this study is that production of IL-6 and IL-10 from dendritic cells in response to M. tuberculosis is principally dependent on TLR2. The study also indicates that M. tuberculosis can induce IL-12 production in the absence of either TLR2 or TLR4, suggesting redundancy or possibly involvement of other receptors in IL-12 production. In addition, the data also reveal that lack of TLR2 or TLR4 does not impact on dendritic cell maturation or on their ability to influence the polarity of differentiating naive T cells. Collectively, data presented here provide a mechanistic insight for the contribution of TLR2 and TLR4 to tuberculosis disease progression and offer strategies for regulating IL-6 and IL-10 production in dendritic cell-based vaccine strategies.     

Identification of genes encoding exported Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins using a Tn552'phoA in vitro transposition system

Secreted and cell envelope-associated proteins are important to both Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis and the generation of protective immunity to M. tuberculosis. We used an in vitro Tn552'phoA transposition system to identify exported proteins of M. tuberculosis. The system is simple and efficient, and the transposon inserts randomly into target DNA. M. tuberculosis genomic libraries were targeted with Tn552'phoA transposons, and these libraries were screened in M. smegmatis for active PhoA translational fusions. Thirty-two different M. tuberculosis open reading frames were identified; eight contain standard signal peptides, six contain lipoprotein signal peptides, and seventeen contain one or more transmembrane domains. Four of these proteins had not yet been assigned as exported proteins in the M. tuberculosis databases. This collection of exported proteins includes factors that are known to participate in the immune response of M. tuberculosis and proteins with homologies, suggesting a role in pathogenesis. Nine of the proteins appear to be unique to mycobacteria and represent promising candidates for factors that participate in protective immunity and virulence. This technology of creating comprehensive fusion libraries should be applicable to other organisms.     

Toll-like receptors in autoimmunity with special reference to systemic lupus erythematosus

The Toll-like receptor (TLR) family plays a fundamental role in host innate immunity by mounting a rapid and potent inflammatory response to pathogen infection. TLRs recognize distinct microbial components and activate intracellular signaling pathways that induce expression of host inflammatory genes. Several studies have indicated that TLRs are implicated in many inflammatory and immune disorders. Extensive research in the past decade to understand TLR-mediated mechanisms of innate immunity has enabled pharmaceutical companies to begin to develop novel therapeutics for the purpose of controlling an inflammatory disease. The roles of TLRs in the development of autoimmune diseases have been studied. TLR7 and TLR9 have key roles in production of autoantibodies and/or in development of systemic autoimmune disease. It remains to be determined their role in apoptosis, in the pathogenesis of RNA containing immune complexes, differential expression of TLRs by T regulatory cells.     

中性粒细胞在抗结核免疫中的作用

结核病是世界范围内的重要传染性疾病之一,严重威胁人类健康。免疫细胞在抗结核免疫过程中起重要作用,各细胞亚群通过不同作用机制影响结核病的病程及转归。中性粒细胞为机体应对结核分枝杆菌感染的第一道防线,在宿主免疫应答过程中是一把双刃剑。一方面,机体感染结核分枝杆菌后,中性粒细胞于第一时间向感染部位聚集,通过多种方式对抗感染：中性粒细胞吞噬结核分枝杆菌后,通过自身凋亡而杀菌;参与形成肉芽肿,形成胞外陷阱来限制结核分枝杆菌的生长和传播;产生功能性细胞因子,调控宿主的抗结核免疫反应。另一方面,中性粒细胞还参与机体的病理损伤过程,甚至促进体内结核分枝杆菌的生长。本文综述了中性粒细胞在抗结核免疫中作用的最新研究进展。     

Toll-like receptor 4 expression is required to control chronic Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice

Endotoxin from Gram-negative bacteria bound to CD14 signals through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, while components of Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb.) preferentially use TLR2 signaling. We asked whether TLR4 plays any role in host resistance to M.tb. infection in vivo. Therefore, we infected the TLR4 mutant C3H/HeJ mice and their controls, C3H/HeN mice, with M.tb. by aerosol. TLR4 mutant mice had a reduced capacity to eliminate mycobacteria from the lungs, spread the infection to spleen and liver, with 10-100 times higher CFU organ levels than the wild-type mice and succumbed within 5-7 mo, whereas most of the wild-type mice controlled infection and survived the duration of the experiment. The lungs of TLR4 mutant mice showed chronic pneumonia with increased neutrophil infiltration, reduced macrophages recruitment, and abundant acid-fast bacilli. Furthermore, the pulmonary expression of TNF-alpha, IL-12p40, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 was significantly lower in C3H/HeJ mice when compared with the wild-type controls. C3H/HeJ-derived macrophages infected in vitro with M.tb. produced lower levels of TNF-alpha. Finally, the purified mycobacterial glycolipid, phosphatidylinositol mannosides, induced signaling in both a TLR2- and TLR4-dependent manner, thus suggesting that recognition of phosphatidylinositol mannosides in vivo may influence the development of protective immunity. In summary, macrophage recruitment and the proinflammatory response to M.tb. are impaired in TLR4 mutant mice, resulting in chronic infection with impaired elimination of mycobacteria. Therefore, TLR4 signaling is required to mount a protective response during chronic M.tb. infection.     

Efficient immunization and cross-priming by vaccine adjuvants containing TLR3 or TLR9 agonists complexed to cationic liposomes

Complexing TLR9 agonists such as plasmid DNA to cationic liposomes markedly potentiates their ability to activate innate immunity. We therefore reasoned that liposomes complexed with DNA or other TLR agonists could be used as effective vaccine adjuvants. To test this hypothesis, the vaccine adjuvant effects of liposomes complexed to TLR agonists were assessed in mice. We found that liposomes complexed to nucleic acids (liposome-Ag-nucleic acid complexes; LANAC) were particularly effective adjuvants for eliciting CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses against peptide and protein Ags. Notably, LANAC containing TLR3 or TLR9 agonists effectively cross-primed CD8(+) T cell responses against even low doses of protein Ags, and this effect was independent of CD4(+) T cell help. Ag-specific CD8(+) T cells elicited by LANAC adjuvants were functionally active and persisted for long periods of time in tissues. In a therapeutic tumor vaccine model, immunization with the melanoma peptide trp2 and LANAC adjuvant controlled the growth of established B16 melanoma tumors. In a prophylactic vaccine model, immunization with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein ESAT-6 with LANAC adjuvant elicited significant protective immunity against aerosol challenge with virulent M. tuberculosis. These results suggest that certain TLR agonists can be combined with cationic liposomes to produce uniquely effective vaccine adjuvants capable of eliciting strong T cell responses against protein and peptide Ags.