Molecular Mechanism of the Inflammatory Response Induced by Enterotrxigenic E. coli K88 in Piglets

To investigate the molecular mechanism of the inflammatory response in the piglets infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) K88, piglets were infected with ETEC K88,the IL-8 content in serum of piglets were assayed by ELISA,and the mRNA relative expression levels of TLR2/4 and its signal transduction pathway related genes (MyD88,Tollip and Bcl3) in mesenteric lymph nodes were detected by quantitative Real-time PCR. The results showed that compared with control group,the content of IL-8 in serum and the expressions of TLR2/4 in lymph nodes were all extremely significantly or significantly increased at 6 and 24 h after infection (P<0.01;P<0.05),and the IL-8 content and TLR2/4 mRNA expression at 24 h after infection were all significantly lower than those at 6 h after infection (P<0.05).In addition,the expressions of MyD88,Tollip and Bcl3 in lymph nodes were all extremely significantly increased at 24 h after infection compared with control group (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between experimental group and control group at 6 h after infection (P>0.05). In conclusion,ETEC K88 infected piglets might produce inflammatory cytokines IL-8 through the TLR2/4-MyD88 signaling pathway,which could promote the inflammatory reaction in piglets. This inflammatory response might be regulated by Tollip and Bcl3,which could weak the inflammatory intensity in piglets.