Transcriptomic study reveals the mildly activated microglia of TLR2-deficient mice

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a class of pattern recognition receptors (PRR) playing critical roles in innate immune responses. Recent genetic and gene knockout studies have shown that TLR2 is associated with multiple neurological disorders and obesity, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Microglia, the resident macrophages of central nervous systems (CNS), constitutively express TLR2. More importantly, microglia-mediated neuroinflammation has emerged as a critical contributor to multiple CNS pathologies. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the effects of TLR2-deficient (TLR2D) on the transcriptome of mouse microglia and explore the possible mechanism of TLR2 deficiency causing neurological diseases and obesity.

Toll样受体（Toll-like receptors, TLRs）是一类模式识别受体（pattern recognition receptors, PRRs），在固有免疫应答中发挥关键作用。近期遗传学与基因敲除研究表明，Toll样受体2（TLR2）与多种神经系统疾病及肥胖相关，但其具体细胞与分子机制尚不完全明确。小胶质细胞作为中枢神经系统（central nervous systems, CNS）的常驻巨噬细胞，可组成性表达TLR2。更为重要的是，小胶质细胞介导的神经炎症已成为多种中枢神经系统病变的关键致病因素。因此，本研究旨在分析Toll样受体2缺陷型（TLR2-deficient, TLR2D）对小鼠小胶质细胞转录组的影响，并探讨TLR2缺陷引发神经系统疾病与肥胖的潜在机制。