Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The control and prevention of infectious diseases through immunization is one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine since Edward Jenner pioneered smallpox vaccination.However, future challenges in improving the efficacy of existing vaccines, development of new prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases and therapeutic immunization for noninfectious diseases require extensive work to reveal key components of the molecular immune mechanism involved. Successful activation of innate immune response is a prerequisite for successful immunization and activation of adaptive immunity. Innate immune system comprises numerous evolutionary conserved pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) that bind structural components shared by many pathogens. Upon binding the ligand, cascade reaction results in de novo gene expression required for immediate immune response by innate immunity and the activation of specific immune response mediated by the humoral and cellular mediators. Appropriate selection of specific pattern-recognition receptor ligands (adjuvants) enables formulation of the next generation vaccines, with controlled minimal adverse symptoms and efficient adaptive immunity development. DISCOVERY OF PATHOGEN RECOGNITION RECEPTORSI n 1980's, obstacles to experimentally induce a development of adap- tive immune response inspired Charles A. Janaway Jr. to propose the hypothesis that innate immune cells (dendritic cells and macrophages) recognize pathogen structural molecules (adjuvants) and provide necessary help to T and B cells mounting cellular and humoral immunity (1).Recognition of these molecules depends on the presence of constitutively expressed receptors, later called pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs).First PRR gene, called Toll, was discovered in 1985 by German a biologist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard who revealed its prominent role in the embryogenesis of the fruit fly (2).Ten years later, similarity in intracellular interleukin (IL)-1 cytokine and Drosophila Toll receptor signaling coupled with NF-kB-dependent gene transcription led Jules A. Hoffmann to directly relate Toll with immune responses to fungal infection in Drosophilla (3)
Authors: Krešo Bendelja, Sabina Rabatić
Institution: Institute of Immunology
Language: English
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2172907738