Toll-Like Receptor 4-Dependent Activation of Dendritic Cells by β-Defensin 2

作者：Arya Biragyn, Pier Adelchi Ruffini, Cynthia Anne Leifer, Elena Klyushnenkova, Alexander Shakhov, Oleg Chertov, Aiko‐Konno Shirakawa, Joshua Μ. Farber, David M. Segal, Joost J. Oppenheim, Larry W. Kwak · 发表于：Science · 年份：2002 · DOI：10.1126/science.1075565 · 被引用次数：902 · 研究领域：Antimicrobial Peptides and Activities、Immune Response and Inflammation、Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

beta-Defensins are small antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system produced in response to microbial infection of mucosal tissue and skin. We demonstrate that murine beta-defensin 2 (mDF2beta) acts directly on immature dendritic cells as an endogenous ligand for Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), inducing up-regulation of costimulatory molecules and dendritic cell maturation. These events, in turn, trigger robust, type 1 polarized adaptive immune responses in vivo, suggesting that mDF2beta may play an important role in immunosurveillance against pathogens and, possibly, self antigens or tumor antigens.