Copyright © 2004 Cascade BioScience, Inc. All rights reserved.
Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is a receptor in the mammalian Toll family of leucine-rich proteins currently counting six published members (TLR1–6). The Toll proteins are important in the Drosophila immune system, and a role for TLRs in mammalian innate immunity responses is emerging. TLR2 is proposed to be a receptor for many microbial products and has so far been shown to signal the presence of peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid, lipoarabinomannan, lipoproteins and lipopeptides, and zymosan as well as many whole Gram-positive bacteria, mycobacteria, spirochetes, and mycoplasmas. Mostly in vitro transfection studies have been used to examine the natural ligands for TLR2. With the emergence of blocking monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to TLRs, a more accurate picture of the importance of the various TLRs in response to different microbial products can be elucidated.
