Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by members of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation from the University of Bonn - Eva Bartok and Gunther Hartmann - has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders. The enzymes RNaseT2 and RNase2 cut ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of bacteria into small fragments that are as characteristic as a thumbprint. Only then can TLR8 recognize the dangerous pathogens and initiate countermeasures. The results have now been published in the renowned journal "Immunity".
Publication
Thomas Ostendorf, Thomas Zillinger, Katarzyna Andryka, Thais Marina Schlee-Guimaraes, Saskia Schmitz, Samira Marx, Kübra Bayrak, Rebecca Linke, Sarah Salgert, Julia Wegner, Tatjana Grasser, Sonja Baersachs, Leon Soltesz, Marc Hübner, Maximilian Nastaly, Christoph Coch, Matthias Kettwig, Ingo Roehl, Marco Henneke, Achim Hörauf, Winfried Barchet, Jutta Gärtner, Martin Schlee, Gunther Hartmann, Eva Bartok: Immune sensing of synthetic, bacterial and protozoan RNA by Toll-like receptor 8 requires coordinated processing by RNase T2 and RNase 2, Immunity, DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2020.03.009
