Tlr5 Conditional Knockout mouse models

Serving as the flagellin sensor, Tlr5 is the mouse ortholog of human TLR5 and encodes a cell-surface leucine-rich repeat receptor that recognizes the conserved D1 domain of bacterial flagellin through a lateral surface centered on repeats seven to ten, an interface that also mediates receptor dimerization and subsequent MyD88, IRAK4, and TRAF6 dependent NF-kB activation. Because this epitope is buried in assembled filaments, TLR5 detects monomeric flagellin released by motile bacteria, and signaling in intestinal epithelium and lamina propria dendritic cells controls flagellin-specific IgA, antimicrobial peptide expression, and microbiota composition, with human dominant-negative variants linked to Legionella susceptibility. Nulls are viable but develop altered microbiota, metabolic syndrome features on some backgrounds, and impaired mucosal antibody responses, so germline deletion is informative provided cohousing and microbiome controls are used, while conditional alleles resolve epithelial versus dendritic cell sensing. Align allele choice with colonization, adjuvant, or metabolic endpoints.

A floxed Tlr5 allele paired with Cre gives spatial control that whole body knockouts cannot offer. People use it to separate developmental roles from adult homeostasis, to model somatic mutations, and to match disease that begins in one organ.