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Epithelial cells pay a Toll for protection

Ligands from commensal microflora can stimulate Toll-like receptors on the surface of intestinal epithelial cells. Work in mice now assigns a surprising role to such signals: cell survival and repair during inflammation.

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Figure 1: Mice lacking MyD88, a Toll-like receptor adaptor protein, have normal-appearing colon tissue.

Reprinted with permission of Cell Press

Figure 2: General features of TLR signaling in the normal or inflamed mucosa.

Deborah Maizels

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Strober, W. Epithelial cells pay a Toll for protection. Nat Med 10, 898–900 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0904-898

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