Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns

Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (engl. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs ) or mAmps ( Microbe-associated molecular patterns ) are structural motifs or molecules that are characteristic of a broad spectrum of microorganisms and the immune system allow the ingress of bacteria To detect viruses, fungi or parasites. As a rule, these structural motifs are essential for these organisms and are highly conserved. The PAMPs can be a typical arrangement of sugar molecules, components of the cell wall of bacteria ( lipopolysaccharides ), peptides or nucleic acids of viruses and bacteria.

PAMPs are recognized by Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs), which are widespread in immune cells as part of the innate immune response . This results in an immediate immune reaction and elimination of the pathogen upon initial contact with a pathogen , since for this part of the immune system, due to the typical and unchangeable molecular pattern, no B-cell receptors and T-cell receptors have to be adjusted, which is usually between lasts three and seven days.

An important subgroup of PRRs, the toll-like receptors , play an important role in triggering an inflammatory response . Analogous to the inflammatory reaction in mammals, PAMPs also trigger a basal immune response in plants. And although these two recognition systems are not directly related to each other, they partly recognize the same PAMPs (TLR5 in humans and the plant FLS2 receptor, for example, both recognize the bacterial flagellin protein); the PRRs use the same structures to recognize PAMPs (so-called leucine-rich repeats ) and both systems pass this information on to the inside of the cell in the same way.

literature

• Charles A. Janeway, Paul Travers, Mark Walport: Immunobiology . B&T; 6th edition (2005) ISBN 0815341016