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A High Resolution Method to Monitor Phosphorylation-dependent Activation of IRF3
Published on: January 24, 2016
TLR3 in antiviral immunity: key player or bystander?
Martina Schröder1, Andrew G Bowie
1Viral Immune Evasion Group, Department of Biochemistry, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Abstract:
Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), which recognizes double-stranded (ds)RNA, was the first identified antiviral TLR and, because dsRNA is a universal viral molecular pattern, TLR3 has been assumed to have a central role in the host response to viruses. However, this role has recently been questioned by in vivo studies and the discovery of several other antiviral pattern-recognition receptors. In this review, the function of TLR3 in the context of these other receptors, namely TLR7, 8 and 9 and the newly identified dsRNA-receptor retinoic-acid inducible gene-I (RIG-I) is discussed. Also, recent research concerning the expression profile of TLR3, its evasion by viruses and a potential role in crosspriming is addressed, which reveals a clearer appreciation of the contribution of TLR3 to antiviral immunity.
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