Toll-Like Receptor 9 Contributes to Defense against Acinetobacter baumannii Infection.

Abstract

Acinetobacter baumannii is a common nosocomial pathogen capable of causing severe diseases associated with significant morbidity and mortality in impaired hosts. Pattern recognition receptors, such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), play a key role in pathogen detection and function to alert the immune system to infection. Here, we examine the role for TLR9 signaling in response to A. baumannii infection. In a murine model of A. baumannii pneumonia, TLR9(-/-) mice exhibit significantly increased bacterial burdens in the lungs, increased extrapulmonary bacterial dissemination, and more severe lung pathology compared with those in wild-type mice. Following systemic A. baumannii infection, TLR9(-/-) mice have significantly increased bacterial burdens in the lungs, as well as decreased proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine production. These results demonstrate that TLR9-mediated pathogen detection is important for host defense against the opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.

• Authors: Michael J Noto, Kelli L Boyd, William J Burns, Matthew G Varga, Richard M Peek Jr, Eric P Skaar
• Journal: Infection and immunity (Infect Immun) Vol. 83 Issue 10 Pg. 4134-41 (Oct 2015) ISSN: 1098-5522 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26238713 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Chemical References

• Cytokines
• Tlr9 protein, mouse
• Toll-Like Receptor 9

Topics

• Acinetobacter Infections (genetics, immunology, microbiology, pathology)
• Acinetobacter baumannii (genetics, immunology, physiology)
• Animals
• Cytokines (genetics, immunology)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Humans
• Lung (immunology, microbiology, pathology)
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred C57BL
• Mice, Knockout
• Toll-Like Receptor 9 (genetics, immunology)