Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize components of pathogens and mediate the host innate immune response. TLR21 is a TLR that specifically recognizes exogenous
double-stranded DNA and rapidly signals to downstream innate
immune factors. This study reports the
cDNA of goose TLR21 and identifies its immune characteristics. The goose TLR21 is 3161 base pairs and encodes a 975
amino acid protein. As predicted, the goose transmembrane
protein TLR21 has a
signal peptide,
leucine-rich repeat regions, a transmembrane domain, and a Toll/
interleukin-1 receptor domain. Multiple sequence alignments and phylogenetic analyses showed that goose TLR21 has homology to chicken TLR21. The tissue distribution of TLR21 suggested that it has high transcript levels in immune-associated tissues, especially in the bursa of Fabricius, the Hadrian gland, and the thymus. After challenge with agonist
ODN2006 and new type gosling viral
enteritis virus (NGVEV), significant induction of TLR21 production, pro-inflammatory
cytokines IL-1β and
IL-6, and
interferons were observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Both synthetic
DNA (
ODN2006) and
viral DNA (NGVEV) can be recognized by goose TLR21, which leads to a rapid up-regulation of pro-inflammatory
cytokines and anti-viral molecules. In vivo,
avian influenza A virus H9N2 and NGVEV were used to infect goslings, which was followed by a significant up-regulation of TLR21
mRNA transcripts in multiple tissues of NGVEV-infected geese. In general, goose TLR21 plays an important role in binding invading pathogenic DNA viruses, which subsequently triggers an innate immune response; furthermore, it acts as a functional homologue of mammalian TLR9, as TLR21 recognizes a mammalian TLR9 agonist.