Induction of antigen cross-presentation by Toll-like receptors

Cross-presentation is the pathway by which exogenous antigens are routed for presentation on MHC class I for activation of CD8⁺ T cells. This pathway is important for the development of CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses against tumors and infectious pathogens that do not directly infect APC. We review studies showing that certain Toll-like receptors mediate cross-presentation by dendritic cells, initiating cytosolic processing of antigen after inducing dendritic cell maturation. The implications of these studies for understanding CD8⁺ T cell activation and implementing novel vaccine strategies is considered.