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Toll-like receptor 4-dependent activation of dendritic cells by beta-defensin 2
Arya Biragyn1, Pier Adelchi Ruffini, Cynthia A Leifer
1Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. arya@mail.ncifcrf.gov
Abstract:
beta-Defensins are small antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system produced in response to microbial infection of mucosal tissue and skin. We demonstrate that murine beta-defensin 2 (mDF2beta) acts directly on immature dendritic cells as an endogenous ligand for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), inducing up-regulation of costimulatory molecules and dendritic cell maturation. These events, in turn, trigger robust, type 1 polarized adaptive immune responses in vivo, suggesting that mDF2beta may play an important role in immunosurveillance against pathogens and, possibly, self antigens or tumor antigens.
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