Purified Microbial Cell-Wall Components

Activation of TLR2 of microbial cell-wall components

TLR2 activation by peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid, and zymosan

Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) plays an essential role in detecting a diverse range of microbial pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) including microbial cell-wall components such as [1]: 

• Peptidoglycan (PGN): a major component of both the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial cell walls. PGN is a large polymeric molecule consisting of glycan strands connected by short peptides, with structural variations noted between different bacterial species.
• Lipoteichoic acid (LTA): found in the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria only. LTAs are amphiphile formed by a hydrophilic polyphosphate polymer linked to a neutral glycolipid.
• Zymosan: found and purified from the cell wall of fungi (i.e. yeast). Zymosan is a glucan with repeating glucose units connected by β-1,3-glycosidic linkages.

Importantly, TLR2 forms a functional heterodimer at the cell surface with either TLR1 or TLR6. The ligand-specific activation of these heterodimers determines downstream signaling and ultimately, the immune response [1]. InvivoGen has functionally validated the purified cell-wall components on our HEK-Blue™ hTLR2 cell collection to identify their potential to activate TLR2-TLR1 or TLR2-TLR6, or both (see figure).

Key features of InvivoGen’s purified cell-wall components:

• Purified microbial components
• Functionally tested in HEK-Blue™ TLR2 cellular assays
• Lot-to-lot reproducibility

References:

1. Oliveira-Nascimento, L. et al. 2012. The Role of TLR2 in Infection and Immunity. Front Immunol 3, 79.