Cutting edge: Functional interactions between toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR1 or TLR6 in response to phenol-soluble modulin

Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 play important roles in the early, inna te immune response to microbial challenge. TLR2. is preferentially involved in the inflammatory response to lipoteichoic acid, lipopeptides, and glyca ns from a variety of microbes, whereas TLR4 is essential for a complete res ponse to LPSs. We report here that TLR2 transduces the response to phenol-s oluble modulin, a factor secreted by Staphylococcus epidermidis, The TLR2-m ediated response to this modulin was enhanced by TLR6 but inhibited by TLR1 , indicating a functional interaction between these receptors, We also demo nstrate that a response to phenol-soluble modulin mediated by TLR2 and TLR6 was more refractory to inhibition by TLR1 than one mediated by TLR2 alone.