The innate immune system constitutes the first line of defense against invading microbial
pathogens and relies on a large family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which detect …

Severe COVID-19 is characterized by a “cytokine storm”, the mechanism of which is not yet
understood. I propose that cytokine storms result from synergistic interactions among Toll …

Pneumococcus remains the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia
worldwide. Streptococcus pneumoniae is well adapted to people, and is a frequent …

Pneumococcal meningitis continues to be associated with high rates of mortality and long-
term neurological sequelae. The most common route of infection starts by nasopharyngeal …

The discovery of mammalian TLRs (Toll-like receptors), first identified in 1997 based on their
homology with Drosophila Toll, greatly altered our understanding of how the innate immune …

Meningococcus, an obligate human bacterial pathogen, remains a worldwide and
devastating cause of epidemic meningitis and sepsis. However, advances have been made …

Infectious diseases result in millions of deaths each year. Mechanisms of infection have
been studied in detail for many pathogens. However, many questions are relatively …

Pathogens comprise a diverse set of immunostimulatory molecules that activate the innate
immune system during infection. The immune system recognizes distinct combinations of …

Innate recognition of bacteria is a key step in the activation of inflammation and coagulation,
and it is dependent on pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) ligation to Toll-like …

Much is known about both microbial virulence and host defense mechanisms, and yet how
they interact to produce different clinical outcomes is poorly appreciated. Here I review …