title: Aberrant inflammatory response to Streptococcus pyogenes in mice lacking myeloid differentiation factor 88.
abstract: Several in vitro studies have emphasized the importance of toll-like receptor/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) signaling in the inflammatory response to Streptococcus pyogenes. Since the extent of inflammation has been implicated in the severity of streptococcal diseases, we have examined here the role of toll-like receptor/MyD88 signaling in the pathophysiology of experimental S. pyogenes infection. To this end, we compared the response of MyD88-knockout (MyD88(-/-)) after subcutaneous inoculation with S. pyogenes with that of C57BL/6 mice. Our results show that MyD88(-/-) mice harbored significantly more bacteria in the organs and succumbed to infection much earlier than C57BL/6 animals. Absence of MyD88 resulted in diminished production of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-12, interferon-gamma, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha as well as chemoattractants such as monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and Keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC), and hampered recruitment of effector cells involved in bacterial clearance (macrophages and neutrophils) to the infection site. Furthermore, MyD88(-/-) but not C57BL/6 mice exhibited a massive infiltration of eosinophils in infected organs, which can be explained by an impaired production of the regulatory chemokines, gamma interferon-induced monokine (MIG/CXCL9) and interferon-induced protein 10 (IP-10/CXCL10), which can inhibit transmigration of eosinophils. Our results indicate that MyD88 signaling targets effector cells to the site of streptococcal infection and prevents extravasation of cells that can induce tissue damage. Therefore, MyD88 signaling may be important for shaping the quality of the inflammatory response elicited during infection to ensure optimal effector functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Infection Immunology Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Loof
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Goldmann
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessner
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Herwald
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Medina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000235:genetics; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D053594:Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D053594:Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88