Stress and Developmental Biology,

ipb-halle.de Innate immunity is an ancient form of defense against microbial infection that is shared by plants, insects and vertebrates1–3. The discrimination of many potential pathogens from self is a formidable task for the innate immune system. This challenge is met by the evolution of a family of receptors that recognize conserved surface components of microbial pathogens called pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Immune modulators in mammals include the LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS) fraction of Gram-negative bacteria (see Glossary), bacterial PEPTIDOGLYCANS and lipopeptides or fungal cell-wall constituents, such as chitin, glucan, mannans or proteins1. TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS (TLR, a class o