Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2008

Keywords

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Cystic Fibrosis, Drug Design, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Toll-Like Receptors

Abstract

Background: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition receptors that act as a first-line of defence in the innate immune response by recognising and responding to conserved molecular patterns in microbial factors and endogenous danger signals. Cystic fibrosis (CF)-affected airways represent a milieu potentially rich in TLR agonists and the chronic inflammatory phenotype evident in CF airway epithelial cells is probably due in large part to activation of TLRs. Objective/methods: To examine the prospects of developing novel therapies for CF by targeting TLRs. We outline the expression and function of TLRs and explore the therapeutic potential of naturally-occurring and synthetic TLR inhibitors for CF. Results/conclusion: Modulation of TLRs has therapeutic potential for the inflammatory lung manifestations of CF.

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Citation

This article is also available at http://informahealthcare.com/

PubMed ID

19007318

DOI Link

10.1517/14728220802515293