Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2026
A Macrophage Reporter Cell Assay to Examine Toll-Like Receptor-Mediated NF-kB/AP-1 Signaling on Adsorbed Protein Layers on Polymeric Surfaces
Published on: January 7, 2020
Combinations of TLR and NOD2 ligands stimulate rat microglial P2X4R expression
Liang-Hao Guo1, Ke-Tai Guo, Hans Peter Wendel
1Institute of Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Calwer Str. 3, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany. lianghao.guo@uni-tuebingen.de <lianghao.guo@uni-tuebingen.de>
Abstract:
As ATP-gated ion channels, P2X4 receptors (P2X4R) of microglial cells play a crucial role in central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. In this study, we used rat microglial cell cultures to examine P2X4R expression in response to stimulation by combination of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) receptors. Various TLR1-9 ligands and NOD2 agonist muramyldipeptide (MDP) were investigated. Our results showed that certain combination of ligands had additive effects on upregulating microglial P2X4R at both mRNA and protein levels, and induced nitric oxide increase and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production. Thus TLRs and NOD2 combinations are contributors to the signaling cascades resulting in purinergic microglial activation.
