Six human homologs of the Drosophila Toll receptor were initially identified based on their sequence similarities and designated toll-like receptors (TLR). Toll receptors are involved in mediating dorsoventral polarization in the developing Drosophila embryo and also participate in the host immunity. The TLR family of proteins are characterized by a highly conserved Toll homology (TH) domain, which is essential for Toll-induced signal transduction. TLR1, as well as the other TLR family members, are type I transmembrane receptors that characteristically contain an extracellular domain consisting of several leucine-rich regions along with a single cytoplasmic Toll/IL-1R-like domain. TLR2 and TLR4 are activated in response to lipopolysacchride (LPS) stimulation, which results in the activation and translocation of NFkB and suggests that these receptors are involved in mediating inflammatory responses. TLR5 specifically participates in the innate immune response to microbial agents. TLR5 is highly expressed in ovary and in peripheral blood leukocytes, most abundantly in monocytes and, to a lesser extent, in prostate and testis.