The Toll-like Receptors (TLR) are a family of human receptors that share homology with the Drosophila Toll Receptors, which are involved in mediating dorsoventral polarization in developing Drosophila embryos and participate in host immunity. The TLR family members are characterized by a highly conserved Toll homology (TH) domain, which is essential for Toll-induced signal transductions. TLRs are type I transmembrane receptors that contain an extracellular domain consisting of several leucine-rich regions and a single cytoplasmic Toll/IL-1R like domain. Three TLR family members, TLR7, TLR8 and TLR9, belong to a subfamily of TLRs which are differentially expressed. TLR7 is expressed in lung, placenta and spleen. TLR8 is expressed in lung and peripheral blood leukocytes, and TLR9 is predominantly expressed in spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and peripheral blood leukocytes. TLR7, TLR8 and TLR9 stimulate the NFκB signaling pathway, suggesting that they play a role in the immune response.
