Think-Pair-Share Questions

As we are learning, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) are microbial molecules many microbes share but are not found as a part of the human body and are able to initiate innate immune responses. Examples thus far include peptidoglycan fragments, lipopolysaccharide in the gram-negative cell wall, and lipoteichoic acids in the gram-positive cell wall, molecules that human cells lack. Bacterial and viral genomes also act as PAMPs.

Our cells also have DNA and RNA. How can bacterial and viral genomes initiate innate immunity when our genomes do not?