Javaid Nasir, Choi Sangdun
Department of Molecular Science and Technology, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea.
Cancers (Basel). 2020 Jan 27;12(2):297. doi: 10.3390/cancers12020297.
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent a family of pattern recognition receptors that recognize certain pathogen-associated molecular patterns and damage-associated molecular patterns. TLRs are highly interesting to researchers including immunologists because of the involvement in various diseases including cancers, allergies, autoimmunity, infections, and inflammation. After ligand engagement, TLRs trigger multiple signaling pathways involving nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), interferon-regulatory factors (IRFs), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) for the production of various cytokines that play an important role in diseases like cancer. TLR activation in immune as well as cancer cells may prevent the formation and growth of a tumor. Nonetheless, under certain conditions, either hyperactivation or hypoactivation of TLRs supports the survival and metastasis of a tumor. Therefore, the design of TLR-targeting agonists as well as antagonists is a promising immunotherapeutic approach to cancer. In this review, we mainly describe TLRs, their involvement in cancer, and their promising properties for anticancer drug discovery.
Toll样受体（TLRs）是一类模式识别受体，可识别某些病原体相关分子模式和损伤相关分子模式。由于TLRs参与包括癌症、过敏、自身免疫、感染和炎症在内的各种疾病，因此包括免疫学家在内的研究人员对其高度关注。配体结合后，TLRs触发涉及核因子κB（NF-κB）、干扰素调节因子（IRFs）和丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPKs）的多种信号通路，以产生在癌症等疾病中起重要作用的各种细胞因子。免疫细胞和癌细胞中的TLR激活可能会阻止肿瘤的形成和生长。尽管如此，在某些条件下，TLRs的过度激活或低激活都支持肿瘤的存活和转移。因此，设计靶向TLR的激动剂和拮抗剂是一种很有前景的癌症免疫治疗方法。在这篇综述中，我们主要描述TLRs、它们在癌症中的作用以及它们在抗癌药物发现方面的前景。
