Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) exposure triggers an exaggerated pro-inflammatory cytokine response that often leads to toxic shock syndrome (TSS) associated with organ failure and death. MyD88 mediates pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling induced by SEB exposure and MyD88-/- mice are resistant to SEB intoxication, suggesting that MyD88 may be a potential target for therapeutic intervention. We targeted the BB loop region of the Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain of MyD88 to develop small-molecule ...
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a clinical consequence of the profound amplification of host pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling that results from staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) exposure. We recently reported that MyD88-/- mice were resistant to SEA or SEB toxic shock and displayed reduced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in their serum. Here we report that SEB stimulation of total mononuclear cells up-regulated MyD88 in monocytes and T cells. Further, MyD88 gene silencing in ...
Ligands binding to Toll-like receptor (TLR), interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R), or IFN-cR1 are known to trigger MyD88-mediated signaling, which activates pro-inflammatory cytokine responses. Recently we reported that staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEA or SEB), which bind to MHC class II molecules on APCs and cross link T cell receptors, activate MyD88-mediated proinflammatory cytokine responses. We also reported that MyD882/2 mice were resistant to SE- induced toxic shock and had reduced levels of ...