Differential contribution of Toll-like receptors 4 and 2 to the cytokine response to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus in mice

The contribution of murine Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 (TLR2 and -4, respectively) to cytokine induction by heat-killed bacteria was analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Gram-negative bacteria induced cytokines primarily via TLR4; the contribution of TLR2 was only minor. Neither TLR4 nor, surprisingly, TLR2 was required in the MyD88-dependent response to Staphylococcus aureus.