Innate immune responses: Crosstalk of signaling and regulation of gene transcription

Innate immune responses to pathogens such as bacteria and viruses are triggered by recognition of specific structures of invading pathogens called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by cellular pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that are located at plasma membrane or inside cells. Stimulation of different PAMPs activates Toll-like receptor (TLR)-dependent and -independent signaling pathways that lead to activation of transcription factors nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), interferon regulatory factor 3/7 (IRF3/7) and/or activator protein-1 (AP-1), which collaborate to induce transcription of a large number of downstream genes. This review focuses on the rapid progress that has recently improved our understanding of the crosstalk among the pathways and the precise regulation of transcription of the downstream genes.