Toll-like receptor 4 signaling is required for clusterin-induced tumor necrosis factor-α secretion in macrophage.

Clusterin is a secretory glycoprotein that is up-regulated in areas of inflammation and under increased levels of oxidative stress. Previously, we demonstrated that clusterin activates NF-κB, and up-regulates the expression of MMP-9 and TNF-α. In this research, we extend our previous findings by reporting that such clusterin-induced macrophage response is mediated via TLR4 signaling.