Question: 

We want to design a verification procedure to identify bacterial fragments in liquid substances or solutions. Acetylated lipoproteins are components of bacterial walls of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The innate immune system of vertebrates is capable to detect these lipoproteins by means of Toll-like receptors (TLR) receptors. TLRs belong to the pattern recognition receptors, that are known to bind structurally conserved molecules derived from bacteria. By binding a specific ligand (for example LPS or acetylated lipoproteins) the activated Toll-like receptor provoke an inflammatory response.

Methodology: 

Our intention is to use a cell based system to detect the signalling activation of the Toll-like receptors of the innate immune system. To show the activation on a transcriptional level we use firefly luciferase as a reporter gene. We generated a stable cell line that is under control of a NFkB responsive promoter.

Results: 

We show a concentration dependent activation of the reporter gene after approximately three hours after stimulation with bacterial components.

Conclusion: 

The system may lead as a biosensor for bacterial components potentially useful in microbial diagnostic procedures.