Toll-like receptors in ocular surface disease

Rachel Redfern, Alison McDermott

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The ability of the ocular surface to mount an immune response is in part attributed to a family of proteins called toll-like receptors (TLRs). The latter are evolutionary conserved receptors that recognize and respond to various microbes and endogenous ligands. In addition to their recognition function, TLR activation triggers a complex signal transduction cascade that induces the production of inflammatory cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules, thus initiating innate and adaptive immunity. Toll-like receptor expression at the ocular surface is modulated during infection (e.g. Herpes simplex, bacterial keratitis and fungal keratitis) as well as during various inflammatory conditions (allergic conjunctivitis and dry-eye syndrome). Here recent findings regarding TLR expression and their involvement in various ocular surface diseases are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)679-687
JournalExperimental Eye Research
Volume90
Issue number6
Early online date24 Mar 2010
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2010

Keywords

  • toll-like receptors
  • cornea
  • conjunctiva
  • inflammation
  • infection

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Toll-like receptors in ocular surface disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this