Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a part of the innate immune response as they are responsible for the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of viruses, fungi, parasites and bacteria . Currently, there are ten known TLRs in the human body, with TLR 1/2/4/5/6/10 located on the cell membrane surface, whereas TLR 3/7/8/9 are intracellular, located on endosomal membranes . Endosomal TLRs recognize double-stranded RNA (TLR3), single-stranded RNA (TLR7/8) or single-stranded DNA (TLR9). TLR8, the focus of this work, is involved in the pathogenesis of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and systemic sclerosis . Therefore, mechanistic understanding of TLR8 ligand binding and inhibition may help in the development of therapeutics against autoimmune diseases .