Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling in the Ileum and Colon of Gnotobiotic Piglets Infected with Salmonella Typhimurium or Its Isogenic ∆rfa Mutants

Salmonella Typhimurium is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes enterocolitis in humans and pigs. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a component of the outer leaflet of Gram-negative bacteria that provokes endotoxin shock. LPS can be synthesized completely or incompletely and creates S (smooth) or R (rough) chemotypes. Toll-like receptors (TLR) 2, 4, and 9 initiate an inflammatory reaction to combat bacterial infections. We associated/challenged one-week-old gnotobiotic piglets with wild-type S. Typhimurium with S chemotype or its isogenic ∆rfa mutants with R chemotype LPS. The wild-type S. Typhimurium induced TLR2 and TLR4 mRNA expression but not TLR9 mRNA expression in the ileum and colon of one-week-old gnotobiotic piglets 24 h after challenge. The TLR2 and TLR4 stimulatory effects of the S. Typhimurium ∆rfa mutants were related to the completeness of their LPS chain. The transcription of IL-12/23 p40, IFN-γ, and IL-6 in the intestine and the intestinal and plasmatic levels of IL-12/23 p40 and IL-6 but not IFN-γ were related to the activation of TLR2 and TLR4 signaling pathways. The avirulent S. Typhimurium ∆rfa mutants are potentially useful for modulation of the TLR2 and TLR4 signaling pathways to protect the immunocompromised gnotobiotic piglets against subsequent infection with the virulent S. Typhimurium.