Cutting edge: MyD88 controls phagocyte NADPH oxidase function and killing of gram-negative bacteria

MyD88 is an adaptor protein for the TLR family of proteins that has been implicated as a critical mediator of innate immune responses to pathogen detection. In this study, we report that MyD88 plays a crucial role in killing Gram-negative bacteria by primary macrophages via influencing NADPH oxidase function. Peritoneal macrophages from MyD88-/- mice exhibited a marked inability to kill Escherichia coli (F18) or an attenuated strain of Salmonella typhimurium (sseB) in vitro. This defect in killing was due to diminished NADPH oxidase-mediated production of superoxide anion in response to bacteria by MyD88-/- phagocytes as a consequence of defective NADPH oxidase assembly. Defective oxidase assembly in MyD88-deficient macrophages resulted from impaired p38 MAPK activation and subsequent phosphorylation of p47phox. Together these data demonstrate a pivotal role for MyD88 in killing Gram-negative bacteria via modulation of NADPH oxidase activity in phagocytic cells.