Innate immune recognition mechanisms and translational opportunities

Innate immune sensors are a family of receptors which play a pivotal role in immune surveillance in various cellular compartments, recognizing numerous motifs derived from pathogens or associated with altered self molecules. Sensing of pathogenic components of self or nonself origin leads to a variety of integrated responses such as induction of proinflammatory and antiviral cytokines and lipid mediators, as well as upregulation of costimulatory molecules on a variety of cells. Furthermore, these sensors play a crucial role in cell survival, autophagy and pluripotency, and therefore, they are essential for the maintenance of cellular metabolic homeostasis. Finally, these sensors also play a substantial role in elicitation of specific immune responses, deploying and regulating the development of appropriate adaptive immunity against pathogens. This issue focuses on the biology of innate immune sensors, particularly Toll-like receptors and C-type lectin receptors, mutations in such sensors and/or their signaling components associated with disorders and the role of innate immune sensors in the mechanism of response to particulate vaccine adjuvants.