HARNESSING IMMUNITY: SYNTHESIS OF NEW MODULATORS OF TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR 4 (TLR4)

Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) is a pivotal protein in innate immunity. Its role is to recognize bacterial presence by binding lipopolisaccharide (LPS): upon LPS binding, inflammation is triggered.1, 2 Inflammation is our way to fight threats. While indispensable for survival, excessive inflammation can lead to sepsis or autoimmune diseases, while weak inflammation can lead to incorrect immunity functions.1, 2 Our aim is to control the inflammatory response by modulating TLR4 activity: inhibiting it can lead to treatments for sepsis and autoimmune diseases; eliciting it can be useful for vaccine adjuvants and cancer immunotherapy. We achieve this goal using our properietary and patented FP Compounds.3, 4, 5