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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Semi-Quantitative Analysis of Peptidoglycan by Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry and Bioinformatics
Published on: October 13, 2020
Peptidoglycan recognition proteins of the innate immune system
1Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, W.M. Keck Laboratory for Structural Biology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
Abstract:
Peptidoglycan (PGN) is the major component of bacterial cell walls and one of the main microbial products recognized by the innate immune system. PGN recognition is mediated by several families of pattern recognition molecules, including Toll-like receptors, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing proteins, and peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs). However, only the interaction of PGN with PGRPs, which are highly conserved from insects to mammals, has so far been characterized at the molecular level. Here, we describe recent structural studies of PGRPs that reveal the basis for PGN recognition and provide insights into the signal transduction and antibacterial activities of these innate immune proteins.
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