TLR2/TLR4 activation induces Tregs and suppresses intestinal inflammation caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum in vivo

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 2 and 4 play critical roles in intestinal inflammation caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) infection, but the role of TLR2/TLR4 in regulation of proinflammatory cytokines remains unknown. In this study, through microarray analysis and qRT-PCR, we showed that TLR2/TLR4 are involved in the F. nucleatum-induced inflammatory signaling pathway in Caco-2 cells, C57BL/6 mice and human clinical specimens. In TLR2(-/-) and TLR4(-/-) mice, F. nucleatum infection resulted in increased colonization of the bacteria and production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-8, IL-1β and TNF-α. In addition, the ratio of Foxp3(+) CD4(+) T cells in the total CD4(+) T cells in TLR2(-/-) and TLR4(-/-) mice was less than that in wild-type mice, and the ratio in hybrid mice was more than that in knockout mice, which suggested that TLR2/TLR4 mediated the number of Tregs. Furthermore, it was observed that inflammatory cytokine levels were reduced in TLR2(-/-) mice after Treg transfer. Thus, these data indicate that TLR2/TLR4 regulate F. nucleatum-induced inflammatory cytokines through Tregs in vivo.