The Toll of herpes simplex virus infection

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections provoke an inflammatory cytokine response, but the innate pathogen-sensing mechanisms that transduce the signal for this response are poorly understood. Recent findings have revealed that Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 initiates the inflammatory process, and surprisingly that the response the TLR triggers might be overzealous in its attempt to counter the attack by the virus. Other recent findings suggest complexity in the array of TLRs that are triggered by HSV and the cell types they activate. Here we discuss the new revelations about these guardians against HSV infection and the consequences of the alarms raised in the host that they are assigned to protect.