A Toll for lupus

Toll-like receptor (TLR)-9 recognizes CpG motifs in microbial DNA.
TLR9 signalling stimulates innate antimicrobial immunity and
modulates adaptive immune responses including autoimmunity against
chromatin, e.g., in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This review
summarizes the available data for a role of TLR9 signalling in
lupus and discusses the following questions that arise from these
observations: 1) Is CpG-DNA/TLR9 interaction involved in
infection-induced disease activity of lupus? 2) What are the risks
of CpG motifs in vaccine adjuvants for lupus patients? 3) Is TLR9
signalling involved in the pathogenesis of lupus by recognizing
self DNA?