Acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important health problem, affecting 13.3 million individuals/year. It associated with increased mortality, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, where renal replacement therapy limited. Moreover, survivors show adverse long-term outcomes, including risk of developing recurrent AKI bouts, cardiovascular events, chronic disease. However, there are no specific...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are known as pattern-recognition receptors related to the Toll protein of Drosophila. After recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns of microbial origin, the TLRs alert the immune system, and initiate innate and adaptive immune responses. The TLR system, though, is not confined solely to the leukocyte-mediated immune defense against exogenous pathogens. B...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of illness and death globally; treatments that effectively halt progression or reverse the disease, or reduce the occurrence and/or severity of exacerbations, are urgently required [1]. The lack of effective treatments results largely from the incomplete understanding of the mechanisms of pathogenesis of COPD. The pathogenesis of thi...

Hypertension and associated inflammatory processes that accelerate cardiovascular damage are regulated by the innate immune system. Toll-like receptors (TLR) are major components of the innate immune system that recognize endogenous damage-associated molecular patterns to activate prominent inflammatory signaling including activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). However, the role of TLR in the...

At one time, atherosclerosis was thought to be a simple lipid storage disease. However, it is now recognized as a chronic and progressive inflammation of the arterial wall. Gene deletion experiments in murine models of atherosclerosis that reduce the inflammatory process also reduce disease severity. Identifying the initiators and mediators of that inflammation can provide promising avenues for...