= Mouse Tlr4 gene
The <mouse Tlr4 gene> is the <house mouse> <gene> encoding <Toll-like receptor 4>. NCBI identifies it as Tlr4, GeneID21898. The <DNA> locus, its RNA transcripts and its receptor <protein> are distinct objects: measuring a sequence change does not directly measure receptor abundance or signalling output.<Mouse Tlr4 in NCBI Gene>[Species, symbol and GeneID]{ref}
A1998 study linked two inherited defects in <lipopolysaccharide> responsiveness to the <mouse Tlr4 gene>. In `C3H/HeJ` mice, the coding change was predicted to replace <proline> by <histidine> at receptor position712. `C57BL/10ScCr` mice carried a mutation eliminating normal receptor function. These animals were relatively resistant to <endotoxin> while being unusually susceptible to Gram-negative infection.<Defective LPS signaling in C3H HeJ and C57BL 10ScCr mice: mutations in Tlr4 gene by A. Poltorak and others>[Abstract, strain-specific mutations and phenotypes]{ref}
The result motivates a distinction between avoiding an inflammatory response and recognizing an invading <bacterium>. A lower response to an isolated bacterial component can coexist with impaired defence against infection. It also illustrates the evidence needed to connect genotype and mechanism: association of a <mutation> with a phenotype, prediction of its protein consequence and measurement of cellular signalling are related steps, rather than interchangeable assays. The1998 host-genetic findings supported a role for <Toll-like receptor 4> in <lipopolysaccharide> recognition and signalling; a coding variant alone is not a direct ligand-binding measurement.
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