| First Author | Mun HS | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | Int Immunol | Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 9 | Pages | 1081-7 |
| PubMed ID | 12917260 | Mgi Jnum | J:113626 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3687105 | Doi | 10.1093/intimm/dxg108 |
| Citation | Mun HS, et al. (2003) TLR2 as an essential molecule for protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii infection. Int Immunol 15(9):1081-7 |
| abstractText | To investigate the role of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family in host defense against Toxoplasma gondii, we infected TLR2-, TLR4- and MyD88-deficient mice with the avirulent cyst-forming Fukaya strain of T. gondii. All TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice died within 8 days, whereas all TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice survived after i.p. infection with a high dose of T. gondii. Peritoneal macrophages from T. gondii-infected TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice did not produce any detectable levels of NO. T. gondii loads in the brain tissues of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice were higher than in those of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. Furthermore, high levels of IFN-gamma and IL-12 were produced in peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice. On the other hand, high levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were produced in PEC of TLR2- and MyD88-deficient mice after infection, but low levels of cytokines were produced in PEC of TLR4-deficient and wild-type mice. The most remarkable histological changes with infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed in lungs of TLR2-deficient mice infected with T. gondii, where severe interstitial pneumonia occurred and abundant T. gondii were found. |
