Fig. 7
Effect of DHT on the immune response induced by S. aureus. DHT acts by increasing the expression of TLR2 and that of transcription factors IRAK1, IRAK4, IKKβ, and NFκB (represented by red arrows). Several extracellular stimuli, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, interleukin 1; TNF, tumour necrosis factor), cause IkB phosphorylation (P), which can be mediated by IkB kinase (IKK) and mediated by the TAB1 protein, known to mediate several intracellular signaling pathways, such as those induced by interleukin-1. The IkB phosphorylation releases NFκB which acts on a target gene in the nucleus, whereas IkB is degraded