Role of Toll-like receptors in Helicobacter pylori infection and immunity

Core Tip

Core tip: Eradication rates for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have fallen. The development of therapeutic alternatives to antibiotics, such as immunomodulatory therapy and vaccines requires a clearer understanding of host-pathogen interactions. As Toll-like receptors are intimately involved in the regulation of inflammation in response to H. pylori and represent key activators of adaptive immunity, they represent a target for therapeutic manipulation. Elucidating innate immune signals triggered by H. pylori will provide an understanding of how the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signals fine-tunes the response to infection and insight into how the immune response may be manipulated therapeutically to successfully eradicate the bacterium.