RIPK2 and infection: Upon infection with intracellular bacteria, nucleotide oligomerization domain protein 2 recognizes bacterial muramyl dipeptide and binds, subsequently, to receptor-interacting serine/threonine kinase 2 (RIPK2), which activates immune responses via the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways.