Respective roles of TLR, RIG-I and NLRP3 in influenza virus infection and immunity: impact on vaccine design

Abstract

Influenza A virus is the etiological agent of a highly contagious acute respiratory disease that causes epidemics and considerable mortality annually. It has become increasingly evident that influenza viral infection is recognized by at least three classes of pattern-recognition receptors, including TLR-7, the retinoic acid inducible gene-I and nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich-repeat-containing protein 3, a member of the Nod-like receptor family. This article highlights the roles of different types of innate immune receptors in influenza virus immunity versus immunopathology.

Keywords::

• adaptive immune responses
• influenza
• innate immune responses
• NLRP3
• RIG-1
• TLR-7
• viral pathogenesis

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge all colleagues for their contributions and express his regrets to those whose work could not be cited. Also, he would like to thank Yusuke Yanagi (Kyushu University, Japan) for his critical reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The author was a recipient of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow for Research Abroad. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No funding for writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.