Lipopolysaccharide recognition, CD14, and lipopolysaccharide receptors

The ability of a host to sense invasion by a pathogenic organism, and to re spond appropriately to control infection, is paramount to survival. To that end, an array of receptors and binding proteins has evolved as part of the innate immune system to detect Gram-negative bacteria. This article review s the role of CD14, other LPS binding proteins, and the Toll family of rece ptors in the innate recognition of bacterial lipopolysaccharide.