Abstract

Lung transplantation is now a mainstream therapy for end-stage lung disease. However, long-term survival remains diminished by antigen-independent ischemia-reperfusion injury and antigendependent acute and chronic rejection. While rejection has traditionally been considered an adaptive immune response, the innate immune response, and events mediated by Toll-like receptors in particular, have recently been shown to be important to the priming and modulation of this adaptive immune response. Unlike other solid organ transplants, the lung is in constant communication with the outside environment and innate immunity likely plays a more significant role in lung transplantation. In this chapter, we will review Toll-like receptor responses in the context of lung transplantation.