Intestinal microfold (M) cells are critical for sampling
antigens in the gut and initiating the intestinal mucosal immune response. In this study, we found that the
oral administration of
dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and
Salmonella infection induced
colitis. In the process, the expression levels of M cell differentiation-related genes were synchronized with the kinetics of pro-inflammatory
cytokines. Compared to wild-type (WT) mice, MyD88-/- mice exhibited significantly lower expression levels of M cell differentiation-related genes. However, DSS induced
colitis in MyD88-/- mice but failed to promote the transcription of M cell differentiation related genes. Furthermore, the receptor activator of the Nuclear Factor-κB
ligand (RANKL) upregulated the transcription of M cell differentiation related genes in murine intestinal organoids prepared from both WT and MyD88-/- mice. Meanwhile, fewer changes in M cell differentiation related genes were found in MyD88-/- mice as compared to WT mice. Hence, we concluded that
myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is an essential molecule for
colitis- and RANKL-related differentiation of M cells.