Toll-like receptor 4 and lymphocyte antigen 96 (LY96, also known as myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD2)) form a heterodimer that specifically recognizes structurally diverse LPS molecules. A structural study of TLR4:LY96 complex revealed that LY96 (MD2) interaction with TLR4 relies on hydrogen and electrostatic bonds (Kim HM et al, 2007). LPS binds to the hydrophobic pocket of LY96 and directly mediates the dimerization of the two TLR4:LY96 complexes in a symmetrical manner. Both hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions contribute to the main dimerization interaction between LY96, LPS and TLR4 multimer components. The phosphate groups of LPS also contribute to the receptor multimerization by forming ionic interactions with positively charged residues of TLR4 and LY96. (Park BS et al, 2009).
The activated TLR4 receptor is composed of two copies of the TLR4:LY96:LPS complex and initiates signal transduction by recruiting intracellular adaptor molecules.
Yoshida, A, Petty, HR, Kindzelskii, AL, Elner, SG, Yang, D, Bian, ZM, Elner, VM
Tobias, PS, da Silva Correia, J, Ulevitch, RJ, Christen, U, Soldau, K
Fenton, MJ, Golenbock, DT
Gay, NJ, Gangloff, M
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