Members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, named for the closely related Toll receptor in Drosophila, play a pivotal role in innate immune responses. TLRs recognize conserved motifs found in various pathogens and mediate defense responses. Triggering of the TLR pathway leads to the activation of NF-κB and subsequent regulation of immune and inflammatory genes. The TLRs and members of the IL-1 receptor family share a conserved stretch of approximately 200 amino acids known as the Toll/Interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain.
