A novel, soluble protein similar to the known Toll-like receptor (TLR)
family is disclosed. The present invention relates to these new soluble
polypeptides, to nucleotide sequences encoding the polypeptides, to
antibodies selectively binding to the polypeptide and to expression
systems suitable for producing the polypeptide. The polypeptide is useful
for modulating inflammatory reactions in mammals that include the actions
of TLR.