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DOI: 10.1177/09680519000060050301 Differential roles of TLR2 and TLR4 in the host response to Gram-negative bacteria: lessons from a lipopolysaccharide-deficient mutant of Neisseria meningitidisBoston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, ringalls{at}bu.edu
Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA The inflammatory response to bacterial infections plays an important role in the detection and elimination of invading micro-organisms. Various components of the bacterial cell wall are capable of activating this pro-inflammatory response. In the case of Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the dominant trigger, although other bacterial factors are also capable of activating this systemic inflammatory response. Recently, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been implicated in host responses to bacterial pathogens. Specifically, TLR4 mediates LPS responses while TLR2 plays a broader role in the recognition of a variety of bacteria and bacterial antigens. The experiments in this study were designed to examine the role of Gram-negative cell wall components, other than LPS, and their cellular receptors in the host response to infection using an LPS-deficient mutant of Neisseria meningitidis. Although less potent than the parental strain, we found the LPS-deficient mutant to be a capable inducer of the inflammatory response in a variety of cell types. Moreover, cellular activation by this mutant required expression of CD14 and TLR2.
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