Does TLR2 regulate intestinal inflammation?

There is almost no aspect of the immune response that is not regulated by TLR. Initially described as drivers of the innate immune response to pathogens, it is now clear that the TLR family can also influence most aspects of adaptive immunity, as well as determine how tissue cells interact with microbes in their environment. In particular, the intestine and its immune system must co-exist with an enormous community of commensal bacteria and are also on constant alert against invading pathogens. Unsurprisingly, there is therefore great interest in how TLR might regulate physiological and pathological reactions in the gut. An article in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology addresses this question with some elegant experiments that indicate that TLR2 is not essential for the pathogenesis or T-cell-mediated regulation of different models of inflammatory bowel disease in mice.