MyD88 is dispensable for resistance toParacoccidioides brasiliensisin a murine model of blood-borne disseminated infection

We have studied the role of MyD88, an adaptor protein of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), in murine defenses against Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in a model of blood-borne disseminated infection. Wild-type (WT) and MyD88-deficient mice infected intravenously with P. brasiliensis yeast cells showed an equivalent fungal burden, as well as similar levels of proinflammatory IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-12p70, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and MIP-2, T-helper type 1 (Th1) (IFN-gamma) and Th2 cytokines (IL-4) in tissue homogenates. In vitro production of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-12p70, by antigen-stimulated splenocytes from infected animals, was also similar in both types of mice; this production of Th1…