The discovery of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) was an important event for immunology research and was recognized as such with the awarding of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Jules Hoffmann and Bruce Beutler, who, together with Ralph Steinman, the third winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize and the person who discovered the dendritic cell, were pioneers in the field of innate immunity. TLRs have a central role in immunity — in this Timeline article, we describe the landmark findings that gave rise to this important field of research.

Foreign nucleic acids trigger innate immune sensors. Bowie and colleagues identify the PYHIN protein IFI16 as an innate duplex DNA sensor that triggers IFN-β production in a STING-TBK1-IRF3 signaling pathway. The detection of intracellular microbial DNA is critical to appropriate innate immune responses; however, knowledge of how such DNA is sensed is limited. Here we identify IFI16, a PYHIN protein, as an intracellular DNA sensor that mediates the induction of interferon-β (IFN-β). IFI16 directly associated with IFN-β-inducing viral DNA motifs. STING, a critical mediator of IFN-β responses to DNA, was recruited to IFI16 after DNA stimulation. Lowering the expression of IFI16 or its mouse ortholog p204 by RNA-mediated interference inhibited gene induction and activation of the transcription factors IRF3 and NF-κB induced by DNA and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). IFI16 (p204) is the first PYHIN protein to our knowledge shown to be involved in IFN-β induction. Thus, the PYHIN proteins IFI16 and AIM2 form a new family of innate DNA sensors we call 'AIM2-like receptors' (ALRs).