Resumo

FERRAZ, Eduardo Gomes; SILVEIRA, Bruno Botto de Barros da; SARMENTO, Viviane Almeida  e  SANTOS, Jean Nunes dos. Toll-Like Receptors: regulation of the immune responses. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) [online]. 2011, vol.59, n.3, pp. 483-490. ISSN 1981-8637.

Toll-like receptors are surface molecules that are present in the host's defence cells. They play an important role in detection and recognition of microbial pathogens. They generate signals that induce the production of inflammatory cytokines for activation of innate immune responses. In humans, ten Toll-like receptors have been identified and designated (TLR1-10) with different functions specific to particular microbial components. Although Toll-like receptors play a key role in protecting the host against infectious and inflammatory processes, and there must be a balance between the activation and inactivation of these receptors to avoid an excessive inflammatory or immune response, as it occurs in systemic autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, much research in this field has sought to achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms by which Toll-like receptor signalling may be regulated. The main objective of this study is to review the literature on Toll-like receptors, emphasizing the generation of signals and the immune responses developed in recognition of microbial components for these receptors.

Palavras-chave : Autoimmunity.; Immunity.; Toll-Like Receptors..