TLR signaling is essential to innate immunity against microbial invaders and must be tightly controlled. We have previously shown that TLR9 undergoes proteolytic cleavage processing by lysosomal proteases to generate two distinct fragments. The C-terminal cleavage product plays a critical role in activating TLR9 signaling; however, the precise role of the N-terminal fragment, which remains in lysosomes, in the TLR9 response is still unclear. In this article, we report that the N-terminal cleavage product negatively regulates TLR9 signaling. Notably, the N-terminal fragment promotes the aspartic protease-mediated degradation of the C-terminal fragment in endolysosomes. Furthermore, the N-terminal TLR9 fragment physically interacts with the C-terminal product, thereby inhibiting the formation of homodimers of the C-terminal fragment; this suggests that the monomeric C-terminal product is more susceptible to attack by aspartic proteases. Together, these results suggest that the N-terminal TLR9 proteolytic cleavage product is a negative self-regulator that prevents excessive TLR9 signaling activity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.