Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ohto U
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3358893 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Ohto Umeharu U Fukase Koichi K Miyake Kensuke K Shimizu Toshiyuki T
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20120424 19
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), also known as endotoxin, activates the innate immune response through toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and its coreceptor, MD-2. MD-2 has a unique hydrophobic cavity that directly binds to lipid A, the active center of LPS. Tetraacylated lipid IVa, a synthetic lipid A precursor, acts as a weak agonist to mouse TLR4/MD-2, but as an antagonist to human TLR4/MD-2. However, it remains unclear as to how LPS and lipid IVa show agonistic or antagonistic activities in a species-spec ...[more]