Role of Toll-like receptors in human papillomavirus infection-caused cervical cancer / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is a well-defined etiology of cervical cancer, but not all HR-HPV infections lead to cervical cancer, indicating that many factors are involved in the regulation of HR-HPV pathogenicity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a class of pattern recognition receptors that specifically recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to provoke host innate and adaptive immunity against viruses. Relevant studies have shown that HR-HPV alters the local immune microenvironment by regulating the expression and signaling pathways of TLRs, leading to persistent infection with HR-HPV as well as cervical cancer. This review summarized and discussed the immune function and possible pathogenesis of TLRs in HPV infection-caused cervical cancer and the application of TLRs agonists in HPV vaccines.