Martinon Fabio, Tschopp Jürg
Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, BIL Biomedical Research Center, Chemin des Boveresses 155, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Trends Immunol. 2005 Aug;26(8):447-54. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2005.06.004.
Pathogen-recognition receptors (PRRs) are key components of immune systems and are involved in innate effector mechanisms and activation of adaptive immunity. Since their discovery in vertebrates, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have become the focus of extensive research that has revealed their significance in the regulation of many facets of our immune system. What makes TLRs so central and fascinating is their ability to recognize microbes and directly initiate specific signal transduction cascades that alert the host defences. In this review, we discuss the function and biology of a new family of PRRs, the NACHT-LRRs (NLRs), which include both nucleotide-binding oligomerization domains (NODs) and NALPs [NACHT-, LRR- and pyrin domain (PYD)-containing proteins], and underline some intriguing similarities between NLRs and TLRs that emphasize the role of NLRs as a complementary system for host-microbe interactions.
病原体识别受体（PRRs）是免疫系统的关键组成部分，参与固有效应机制和适应性免疫的激活。自其在脊椎动物中被发现以来，Toll样受体（TLRs）已成为广泛研究的焦点，这些研究揭示了它们在调节我们免疫系统诸多方面的重要性。使TLRs如此核心且引人入胜的是它们识别微生物并直接启动特定信号转导级联反应的能力，这些反应会提醒宿主防御。在本综述中，我们讨论了一类新的PRRs家族——NACHT-LRRs（NLRs）的功能和生物学特性，其中包括核苷酸结合寡聚化结构域（NODs）和NALPs [含NACHT、LRR和吡啉结构域（PYD）的蛋白质]，并强调了NLRs与TLRs之间一些有趣的相似之处，这些相似之处凸显了NLRs作为宿主-微生物相互作用互补系统的作用。
