The interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling pathway leads to nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) activation in mammals and is similar to the Toll pathway in Drosophila: the IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK) is homologous to Pelle. Two additional proximal mediators have been identified that are required for IL-1R-induced NF-kappaB activation: IRAK-2, a Pelle family member, and MyD88, a death domain-containing adapter molecule. MyD88 and the cytoplasmic domain of IL-1R accessory protein (IL-1RAcp) possess sequence similarity with Drosophila Toll. Both IRAK-2 and MyD88 associate with the IL-1R signaling complex. Dominant negative forms of either attenuate IL-1R-mediated NF-kappaB activation. MyD88-induced NF-kappaB activity is specifically inhibited by expression of constructs of TRAF6: this suggests that TRAF6 functions downstream of MyD88. Therefore, IRAK-2 and MyD88 may provide additional therapeutic targets for inhibiting IL-1-induced inflammation (Muzio, 1997).
IL-1 is a proinflammatory cytokine that signals through a receptor complex of two different transmembrane chains to generate multiple cellular responses, including activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB. MyD88, a previously described protein of unknown function, is recruited to the IL-1 receptor complex following IL-1 stimulation. MyD88 binds to both IRAK (IL-1 receptor-associated kinase) and the heterocomplex (the signaling complex) of the two receptor chains and thereby mediates the association of IRAK with the receptor. Ectopic expression of MyD88 or its death domain-containing N-terminus activates NF-kappaB. The C-terminus of MyD88 interacts with the IL-1 receptor and blocks NF-kappaB activation induced by IL-1, but not by TNF. Thus, MyD88 plays the same role in IL-1 signaling as TRADD and Tube do in TNF and Toll pathways, respectively: it couples a serine/threonine protein kinase to the receptor complex (Wesche, 1997).
The Toll-mediated signaling cascade using the NF-kappaB pathway has been shown to be essential for immune responses in adult Drosophila, and a human homolog of the Drosophila Toll protein induces various immune response genes via this pathway. Signaling by the human Toll receptor employs an adaptor protein, MyD88, and induces activation of NF-kappaB via the Pelle-like kinase IRAK and the TRAF6 protein, similar to IL-1R-mediated NF-kappaB activation. However, Toll and IL-1R signaling pathways are not identical with respect to AP-1 activation. Finally, these findings implicate MyD88 as a general adaptor/regulator molecule for the Toll/IL-1R family of receptors for innate immunity (Kopp, 1998).
The recognition of microbial pathogens by the innate immune system involves Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Different TLRs recognize different pathogen-associated molecular patterns, with TLR-4 mediating the response to lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria. All TLRs have a Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain, which is responsible for signal transduction. MyD88 is one such protein that contains a TIR domain. It acts as an adapter, being involved in TLR-2, TLR-4 and TLR-9 signalling; however, an understanding of how TLR-4 signals is incomplete. A protein, Mal (MyD88-adapter-like), is described that joins MyD88 as a cytoplasmic TIR-domain-containing protein in the human genome. Mal activates NF-kappaB, Jun amino-terminal kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and -2. Mal can form homodimers and can also form heterodimers with MyD88. Activation of NF-kappaB by Mal requires IRAK-2, but not IRAK, whereas MyD88 requires both IRAKs. Mal associates with IRAK-2 by means of its TIR domain. A dominant negative form of Mal inhibits NF-kappaB, which is activated by TLR-4 or lipopolysaccharide, but it does not inhibit NF-kappaB activation by IL-1RI or IL-18R. Mal associates with TLR-4. Mal is therefore an adapter in TLR-4 signal transduction (Fitzgerald, 2001).
The Toll/interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domain is a region found in the cytoplasmic tails of members of the Toll-like receptor/interleukin-1 receptor superfamily. The domain is essential for signaling and is also found in the adaptor proteins Mal (MyD88 adaptor-like) and MyD88, which function to couple activation of the receptor to downstream signaling components. Experimental structures of two Toll/interleukin 1 receptor domains reveal an alpha-beta-fold similar to that of the bacterial chemotaxis protein CheY, and other evidence suggests that the adaptors can make heterotypic interactions with both the receptors and themselves. The purified TIR domains of Mal and MyD88 can form stable heterodimers; Mal homodimers and oligomers are dissociated in the presence of ATP. To identify structural features that may contribute to the formation of signaling complexes, models of the TIR domains from human Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), Mal, and MyD88 were produced. Although the overall fold is conserved the electrostatic surface potentials are quite distinct. Docking studies of the models suggest that Mal and MyD88 bind to different regions in TLRs 2 and 4, a finding consistent with a cooperative role of the two adaptors in signaling. Mal and MyD88 are predicted to interact at a third non-overlapping site, suggesting that the receptor and adaptors may form heterotetrameric complexes. The theoretical model of the interactions is supported by experimental data from glutathione S-transferase pull-downs and co-immunoprecipitations. Neither theoretical nor experimental data suggest a direct role for the conserved proline in the BB-loop in the association of TLR4, Mal, and MyD88. Finally a sequence relationship is shown between the Drosophila protein Tube and Mal that may indicate a functional equivalence of these two adaptors in the Drosophila and vertebrate Toll pathways (Dunne, 2003).
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and the type I IL-1 receptor (IL-1RI) are key components of the innate immune system activated by microbial infections and inflammation. The signaling cascade from agonist-occupied TLRs and IL-1Rs involves recruitment of the small cytosolic adapter protein MyD88 that binds to IL-1RI via homotypic interactions mediated by Toll/IL-1R/resistance (TIR) domains. Dominant negative forms and null mutations of MyD88 preclude bacterial product or IL-1-mediated activation of NF-kappaB pathways, demonstrating that MyD88 is an essential component of the Toll receptor signaling. A low molecular weight MyD88 mimic, hydrocinnamoyl-l-valyl pyrrolidine (compound 4a), is modeled on a tripeptide sequence of the BB-loop [(F/Y)-(V/L/I)-(P/G)] of the TIR domain. Compound 4a interferes with the interactions between mouse MyD88 and IL-1RI at the TIR domains. Compound 4a inhibits IL-1beta-induced phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 in EL4 thymoma cells and in freshly isolated murine lymphocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. In vivo, compound 4a produces a significant attenuation of the IL-1beta-induced fever response. Inhibition of the TIR domain-mediated MyD88/IL1-RI interaction by a low molecular weight, cell-penetrating TIR domain mimic suggests an intracellular site for antiinflammatory drug action (Bartfai, 2003).
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and members of the proinflammatory interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R) family are dependent on the presence of MyD88 for efficient signal transduction. The bipartite nature of MyD88 (N-terminal death domain [DD] and COOH-terminal Toll/IL-1 receptor [TIR] domain) allows it to link the TIR domain of IL-1R/TLR with the DD of the Ser/Thr kinase termed IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK)-1. This triggers IRAK-1 phosphorylation and in turn the activation of multiple signaling cascades such as activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB. In contrast, expression of MyD88 short (MyD88s), an alternatively spliced form of MyD88 that lacks only the short intermediate domain separating the DD and TIR domains, leads to a shutdown of IL-1/lipopolysaccharide-induced NF-kappaB activation. This study provides the molecular explanation for this difference. MyD88 but not MyD88s strongly interacts with IRAK-4, a newly identified kinase essential for IL-1R/TLR signaling. In the presence of MyD88s, IRAK-1 is not phosphorylated and neither activates NF-kappaB nor is it ubiquitinated. Thus, MyD88s acts as a negative regulator of IL-1R/TLR/MyD88-triggered signals, leading to a transcriptionally controlled negative regulation of innate immune responses (Burns, 2003).
Interleukin (IL)-1 plays an important role in inflammation and regulation of immune responses. The activated IL-1 receptor complex, which consists of the IL-1 receptor type I and the IL-1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP), generates multiple cellular responses including NF-kappaB activation, IL-2 secretion, and IL-2 promoter activation. Reconstitution experiments in EL4D6/76 cells lacking IL-1RAcP expression and IL-1 responsiveness were used to analyze structure-function relationships of the IL-1RAcP cytoplasmic tail. Mutating a potential tyrosine kinase phosphorylation motif and various conserved amino acid (aa) residues has no effect on IL-1 responsiveness. Truncation analyses reveals that box 3 of the TIR domain is required for NF-kappaB activation, IL-2 production, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, whereas IL-2 promoter activation was only partially inhibited. Surprisingly, deletion of aa 527-534 resulted in almost complete loss of all IL-1 responsiveness. Replacement of these aa with alanyl residues did not reconstitute NF-kappaB activation, IL-2 production, or JNK activation but partly restored IL-2 promoter activation. Immunoprecipitation data revealed a strong correlation between MyD88 binding with NF-kappaB activation and IL-2 production but not with IL-2 promoter activation. Taken together, these data indicate that box 3 of IL-1RAcP is critical for IL-1-dependent NF-kappaB activation and stabilization of IL-2 mRNA via JNK, whereas aa 527-534 largely contribute to IL-2 promoter activation (Radons, 2002).
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) detect microorganisms and protect multicellular organisms from infection. TLRs transduce their signals through MyD88 and the Pelle family serine/threonine kinase IRAK. The IRAK family consists of two active kinases, IRAK and IRAK-4, and two inactive kinases, IRAK-2 and IRAK-M. IRAK-M expression is restricted to monocytes/macrophages, whereas other IRAKs are ubiquitous. IRAK-M is induced upon TLR stimulation and negatively regulates TLR signaling. IRAK-M prevents dissociation of IRAK and IRAK-4 from MyD88 and formation of IRAK-TRAF6 complexes. IRAK-M-/- cells exhibit increased cytokine production upon TLR/IL-1 stimulation and bacterial challenge, and IRAK-M-/- mice show increased inflammatory responses to bacterial infection. Endotoxin tolerance, a protection mechanism against endotoxin shock, is significantly reduced in IRAK-M-/- cells. Thus, IRAK-M regulates TLR signaling and innate immune homeostasis (Kobayashi, 2002).
MyD88 is an adaptor protein that is involved in interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R)- and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-induced activation of NF-kappaB. It is composed of a C-terminal Toll/IL-1R homology (TIR) domain and an N-terminal death domain; these domains mediate, respectively, the interaction of MyD88 with the IL-1R/TLR and the IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK, Drosophila homolog: Pelle). The interaction of MyD88 with IRAK triggers IRAK phosphorylation, which is essential for its activation and downstream signaling ability. Both domains of MyD88 are separated by a small intermediate domain (ID) of unknown function. This study identifies a splice variant of MyD88, termed MyD88S, which encodes for a protein lacking the ID. MyD88S is mainly expressed in the spleen and can be induced in monocytes upon LPS treatment. Although MyD88S still binds the IL-1R and IRAK, it is defective in its ability to induce IRAK phosphorylation and NF-kappaB activation. In contrast, MyD88S behaves as a dominant-negative inhibitor of IL-1- and LPS-, but not TNF-induced, NF-kappaB activation. These results implicate the ID of MyD88 in the phosphorylation of IRAK. Moreover, the regulated expression and antagonistic activity of MyD88S suggest an important role for alternative splicing of MyD88 in the regulation of the cellular response to IL-1 and LPS (Janssens, 2002).
MyD88 has a modular organization, an N-terminal death domain (DD) related to the cytoplasmic signaling domains found in many members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF-R) superfamily, and a C-terminal Toll domain similar to that found in the expanding family of Toll/interleukin-1-like receptors (IL-1R). This dual domain structure, together with the following observations, supports a role for MyD88 as an adapter in IL-1 signal transduction; MyD88 forms homodimers in vivo through DD-DD and Toll-Toll interactions. Overexpression of MyD88 induces activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and the transcription factor NF-kappaB through its DD. A point mutation in MyD88, MyD88-lpr (F56N), which prevents dimerization of the DD, also blocks induction of these activities. MyD88-induced NF-kappaB activation is inhibited by the dominant negative versions of TRAF6 and IRAK, which also inhibit IL-1-induced NF-kappaB activation. Overexpression of MyD88-lpr or MyD88-Toll (expressing only the Toll domain) acts to inhibit IL-1-induced NF-kappaB and JNK activation in a 293 cell line overexpressing the IL-1RI. MyD88 coimmunoprecipitates with the IL-1R signaling complex in an IL-1-dependent manner (Burns, 1998).
The involvement of components of the interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling pathway in the transactivation of gene expression by the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB has been examined. Transient transfection of cells with plasmids encoding wild-type MyD88, IL-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK-1), and TRAF-6 drives p65-mediated transactivation. In addition, dominant negative forms of MyD88, IRAK-1, and TRAF-6 inhibit the IL-1-induced response. In cells lacking MyD88 or IRAK-1, no effect of IL-1 is observed. Together, these results indicate that MyD88, IRAK-1, and TRAF-6 are important downstream regulators of IL-1-mediated p65 transactivation. The low-molecular-weight G protein Rac1 is involved in this response. Constitutively active RacV12-mediated transactivation is not inhibited by dominant negative MyD88, while dominant negative RacN17 inhibits the MyD88-driven response, placing Rac1 downstream of MyD88 on this pathway. Dominant negative RacN17 inhibits wild-type IRAK-1- and TRAF-6-induced transactivation, and in turn, dominant negative IRAK-1 and TRAF-6 inhibits the RacV12-driven response, suggesting a mutual codependence of Rac1, IRAK-1, and TRAF-6 in regulating this pathway. Finally, Rac1 associates with the receptor complex via interactions with both MyD88 and the IL-1 receptor accessory protein. A pathway emanating from MyD88 and involving IRAK-1, TRAF-6, and Rac1 is therefore involved in transactivation of gene expression by the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB in response to IL-1 (Jefferies, 2001).
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK) and Akt are two multifunctional kinases involved in many cellular responses. Although Akt and Ca(2+) signals have been implicated in NF-kappaB activation in response to certain stimuli, these results are still controversial, and the mechanism(s) involved remains unknown. In this study, the roles played by CaMKK and Akt in regulating interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced NF-kappaB signaling are examined. In human embryonic kidney 293 cells, IL-1beta induces IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) activation, IkappaBalpha degradation, NF-kappaB transactivation, and weak Akt activation. A CaMKK inhibitor (KN-93) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors (wortmannin and LY294002) do not inhibit IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB activation. However, IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB activity is attenuated by increased intracellular calcium in response to ionomycin, UTP, or thapsigargin or by overexpression of CaMKKc and/or Akt. Ionomycin and CaMKKc overexpression increases Akt phosphorylation on Thr(308) and enzyme activity. Under these conditions or upon overexpression of wild type Akt, IL-1beta-induced IKKbeta activity is diminished. Furthermore, a dominant negative mutant of Akt abolishes IKKbeta inhibition by CaMKKc and ionomycin, suggesting that Akt acts as a mediator of CaMKK signaling to inhibit IL-1beta-induced IKK activity at an upstream target site. A novel interaction has been identified between CaMKK-stimulated Akt and interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK1), which plays a key role in IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB activation. CaMKKc and Akt overexpression decreases IRAK1-mediated NF-kappaB activity and its association with MyD88 in response to IL-1beta stimulation. Furthermore, CaMKKc and Akt overexpression increases IRAK1 phosphorylation at Thr(100), and point mutation of this site abrogates the inhibitory effect of Akt on IRAK1-mediated NF-kappaB activation. Taken together, these results indicate a novel regulatory mechanism for IL-1beta signaling and suggest that CaMKK-dependent Akt activation inhibits IL-1beta-induced NF-kappaB activation through interference with the coupling of IRAK1 to MyD88 (Chen, 2002).
Mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs) function as sensors of infection and induce the activation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Upon recognizing conserved pathogen-associated molecular products, TLRs activate host defence responses through their intracellular signalling domain, the Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain, and the downstream adaptor protein MyD88. Although members of the TLR and the interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor families all signal through MyD88, the signalling pathways induced by individual receptors differ. TIRAP, an adaptor protein in the TLR signalling pathway, has been identified and shown to function downstream of TLR4. This study reports the generation of mice deficient in the Tirap gene. TIRAP-deficient mice respond normally to the TLR5, TLR7 and TLR9 ligands, as well as to IL-1 and IL-18, but have defects in cytokine production and in activation of the nuclear factor NF-kappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinases in response to lipopolysaccharide, a ligand for TLR4. In addition, TIRAP-deficient mice are also impaired in their responses to ligands for TLR2, TLR1 and TLR6. Thus, TIRAP is differentially involved in signalling by members of the TLR family and may account for specificity in the downstream signalling of individual TLRs (Horng, 2002).
MyD88 is an adapter protein that is involved in Toll-like receptor (TLR)- and interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R)-induced activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). By directly binding IL-1R-associated kinase (IRAK)-1 and IRAK-4, MyD88 serves as a bridging protein, enabling IRAK-4-induced IRAK-1 phosphorylation. A lipopolysaccharide-inducible splice variant of MyD88, MyD88(S) specifically prevents the recruitment of IRAK-4 into the IL-1R complex and thus inhibits IRAK-4-mediated IRAK-1 phosphorylation. MyD88(S) is not able to activate NF-kappaB, and in contrast functions as a dominant negative inhibitor of TLR/IL-1R-induced NF-kappaB activation. Unexpectedly, MyD88(S) still allows JNK phosphorylation and activator protein (AP)-1-dependent reporter gene induction upon overexpression in HEK293T cells. These observations indicate that NF-kappaB and JNK activation pathways can already diverge at the level of MyD88. Moreover, the regulated expression of a MyD88 splice variant that specifically interferes with NF-kappaB- but not AP-1-dependent gene expression implies an important role for alternative splicing in the fine-tuning of TLR/IL-1R responses (Janssens, 2003).
Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) can be activated by nonbacterial agonists, including saturated fatty acids. However, downstream signaling pathways activated by nonbacterial agonists are not known. Thus, the downstream signaling pathways derived from saturated fatty acid-induced TLR4 activation were determined. Saturated fatty acid (lauric acid)-induced NFkappaB activation is inhibited by a dominant-negative mutant of TLR4, MyD88, IRAK-1, TRAF6, or IkappaBalpha in macrophages (RAW264.7) and 293T cells transfected with TLR4 and MD2. Lauric acid induces the transient phosphorylation of AKT. LY294002, dominant-negative (DN) phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), or AKT(DN) inhibits NFkappaB activation, p65 transactivation, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression induced by lauric acid or constitutively active (CA) TLR4. AKT(DN) blocks MyD88-induced NFkappaB activation, suggesting that AKT is a MyD88-dependent downstream signaling component of TLR4. AKT(CA) is sufficient to induce NFkappaB activation and COX-2 expression. These results demonstrate that NFkappaB activation and COX-2 expression induced by lauric acid are at least partly mediated through the TLR4/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In contrast, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) inhibits the phosphorylation of AKT induced by lipopolysaccharide or lauric acid. DHA also suppresses NFkappaB activation induced by TLR4(CA), but not MyD88(CA) or AKT(CA), suggesting that the molecular targets of DHA are signaling components upstream of MyD88 and AKT. Together, these results suggest that saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids reciprocally modulate the activation of TLR4 and its downstream signaling pathways involving MyD88/IRAK/TRAF6 and PI3K/AKT and further suggest the possibility that TLR4-mediated target gene expression and cellular responses are also differentially modulated by saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (Lee, 2003).
The immune stimulatory unmethylated CpG motifs present in bacterial DNA (CpG DNA) induce expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2). The present study demonstrates that CpG DNA can up-regulate cox-2 expression by post-transcriptional mechanisms in RAW264.7 cells. To determine the CpG DNA-mediated signaling pathway that post-transcriptionally regulates cox-2 expression, a cox-2 translational reporter (COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase) was generated by inserting sequences within the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) of cox-2 to the 3' end of the luciferase gene under control of the SV40 promoter. CpG DNA-induced COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase activity is completely inhibited by an endosomal acidification inhibitor chloroquine, a Toll-like receptor 9 antagonist inhibitory CpG DNA, or overexpression of a dominant negative (DN) form of MyD88. However, overexpression of DN-IRAK-1 or DN-TRAF6 results in substantial, but not complete, inhibition of the CpG DNA-induced COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase activity. Activation of all three MAPKs (ERK, p38, and JNK) is required for optimal COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase activity induced by CpG DNA. Overexpression of DN-TRAF6 suppresses CpG DNA-mediated activation of p38 and JNK, but not ERK, explaining the partial inhibitory effects of DN-TRAF6 on CpG DNA-induced COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase activity. Co-expression of DN-TRAF6 and N17Ras completely inhibits CpG DNA-induced COX2-3'-UTR-luciferase activity, indicating the involvement of Ras in CpG DNA-mediated ERK and COX2-3'-UTR regulation. Collectively, these results suggest that MyD88 and MAPKs play a key regulatory role in CpG DNA-mediated cox-2 expression at the post-transcriptional level and that TRAF6 is a diverging point in the Toll-like receptor 9-signaling pathway for CpG DNA-mediated MAPK activation (Yeo, 2003).
The imidazoquinoline compounds imiquimod and R-848 are low-molecular-weight immune response modifiers that can induce the synthesis of interferon-alpha and other cytokines in a variety of cell types. These compounds have potent anti-viral and anti-tumor properties; however, the mechanisms by which they exert their anti-viral activities remain unclear. The imidazoquinolines are shown to activate immune cells via the Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7)-MyD88-dependent signaling pathway. In response to the imidazoquinolines, neither MyD88- nor TLR7-deficient mice showed any inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages, proliferation of splenocytes or maturation of dendritic cells. Imidazoquinoline-induced signaling events were also abolished in both MyD88- and TLR7-deficient mice (Hemmi, 2002).
Stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) triggers activation of a common MyD88-dependent signaling pathway as well as a MyD88-independent pathway that is unique to TLR3 and TLR4 signaling pathways leading to interferon (IFN)-beta production. The gene encoding a Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adaptor, TRIF, has been disrupted. TRIF-deficient mice are defective in both TLR3- and TLR4-mediated expression of IFN-beta and activation of IRF-3. Furthermore, inflammatory cytokine production in response to the TLR4 ligand, but not to other TLR ligands, is severely impaired in TRIF-deficient macrophages. Mice deficient in both MyD88 and TRIF show complete loss of nuclear factor kappa B activation in response to TLR4 stimulation. These findings demonstrate that TRIF is essential for TLR3- and TLR4-mediated signaling pathways facilitating mammalian antiviral host defense (Yamamoto, 2003).
To assess the role of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling in host resistance to Mycobacterium avium infection, mice deficient in the TLR adaptor molecule myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), as well as TLR2-/- and TLR4-/- animals, were infected with a virulent strain of M. avium, and bacterial burdens and immune responses were compared with those in wild-type (WT) animals. MyD88-/- mice failed to control acute and chronic M. avium growth and succumbed 9-14 wk postinfection. Infected TLR2-/- mice also showed increased susceptibility, but displayed longer survival and lower bacterial burdens than MyD88-/- animals, while TLR4-/- mice were indistinguishable from their WT counterparts. Histopathological examination of MyD88-/- mice revealed massive destruction of lung tissue not present in WT, TLR2-/-, or TLR4-/- mice. In addition, MyD88-/- and TLR2-/-, (but not TLR4-/-) mice displayed marked reductions in hepatic neutrophil infiltration during the first 2 h of infection. Although both MyD88-/- and TLR2-/- macrophages showed profound defects in IL-6, TNF, and IL-12p40 responses to M. avium stimulation in vitro, in vivo TNF and IL-12p40 mRNA induction was impaired only in infected MyD88-/- mice. Similarly, MyD88-/- mice displayed a profound defect in IFN-gamma response that was not evident in TLR2-/- or TLR4-/- mice or in animals deficient in IL-18. These findings indicate that resistance to mycobacterial infection is regulated by multiple MyD88-dependent signals in addition to those previously attributed to TLR2 or TLR4, and that these undefined elements play a major role in determining bacterial induced proinflammatory as well as IFN-gamma responses (Feng, 2003).
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