The Toll-like receptor 2 is recruited to macrophage phagosomes and discriminates between pathogens

Abstract

Originally published as Nature401, 811–815; 1999 Macrophages orchestrate innate immunity by phagocytosing pathogens and coordinating inflammatory responses1. Effective defence requires the host to discriminate between different pathogens. The specificity of innate immune recognition in Drosophila is mediated by the Toll family of receptors2,3; Toll mediates anti-fungal responses, whereas 18-wheeler mediates anti-bacterial defence4,5,6. A large number of Toll homologues have been identified in mammals, and Toll-like receptor 4 is critical in responses to Gram-negative bacteria7,8,9,10,11. Here we show that Toll-like receptor 2 is recruited specifically to macrophage phagosomes containing yeast, and that a point mutation in the receptor abrogates inflammatory responses to yeast and Gram-positive bacteria, but not to Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, during the phagocytosis of pathogens, two classes of innate immune receptors cooperate to mediate host defence: phagocytic receptors, such as the mannose receptor, signal particle internalization, and the Toll-like receptors sample the contents of the vacuole and trigger an inflammatory response appropriate to defence against the specific organism.