11.4: Early Induced Innate Immunity

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alt — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns Binding to Pattern-Recognition Receptors on Defense Cells. Glycoprotein molecules known as pattern-recognition receptors are found on the surface of a variety of body defense cells. They are so named because they recognize and bind to pathogen-associated molecular patterns - molecular components associated with microorganisms but not found as a part of eukaryotic cells. These include bacterial molecules such as peptidoglycan, teichoic acids, lipopolysaccharide, mannans, flagellin, pilin, and bacterial DNA. There are also pattern-recognition molecules for viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and fungal cell walls components such as lipoteichoic acids, glycolipids, mannans, and zymosan. Many of these pattern recognition receptors are known as toll-like receptors.

Most body defense cells have pattern-recognition receptors or PRRs for these common PAMPs enabling an immediate response against the invading microorganism. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns can also be recognized by a series of soluble pattern-recognition receptors in the blood that function as opsonins and initiate the complement pathways. In all, the innate immune system is thought to recognize approximately 10³ of these microbial molecular patterns.