Cutting edge: protective cell-mediated immunity to Listeria monocytogenes in the absence of myeloid differentiation factor 88

In addition to their role in triggering innate immune responses, Toll-like receptors are proposed to play a key role in linking the innate and adaptive arms of the immune response. The majority of cellular responses downstream of Toll-like receptors are mediated through the adapter molecule myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), and mice with a targeted deletion of MyD88 are highly susceptible to bacterial infections, including primary infection with Listeria monocytogenes (LM). In contrast, herein we demonstrate that MyD88-deficient mice have only a modest impairment in their LM-specific CD4 T cell response, and no impairment in their CD8 T cell response following infection with ActA-deficient LM. Furthermore, CD8 T cells from immunized MyD88-deficient mice protected naive recipient mice following adoptive splenocyte transfer, and immunized MyD88-deficient mice were protected from infection with wild-type LM. These results indicate that adaptive immune responses can be generated and provide protective immunity in the absence of MyD88.