National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology & Institute of Immunology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China

Toll-like receptors sense invading pathogens by recognizing a wide variety of conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The members of TLR family selectively utilize adaptor proteins MyD88, TRIF, TIRAP and TRAM to activate overlapping but distinct signal transduction pathways which trigger production of different panels of mediators such as proinflammatory cytokines and type I interferon. These mediators not only control innate immunity but also direct subsequently developed adaptive immunity. TLR activation is strictly and finely regulated at multiple levels of the signal transduction pathways.