Lipoteichoic acid induces unique inflammatory responses when compared to other toll-like receptor 2 ligands

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize evolutionarily-conserved molecular patterns originating from invading microbes. In this study, we were interested in determining if microbial ligands, which use distinct TLR2-containing receptor complexes, represent unique signals to the cell and can thereby stimulate unique cellular responses. Using the TLR2 ligands, R-FSL1, S-FSL1, Pam2CSK4, Pam3CSK4, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), we demonstrate that these ligands activate NF-kappaB and MAP Kinase pathways with ligand-specific differential kinetics in murine macrophages. Most strikingly, LTA stimulation of these pathways was substantially delayed when compared with the other TLR2 ligands. These kinetics differences were associated with a delay in the LTA-induced expression of a subset of genes as compared with another TLR2 ligand, R-FSL1. However, this did not translate to overall differences in gene expression patterns four hours following stimulation with different TLR2 ligands. We extended this study to evaluate the in vivo responses to distinct TLR2 ligands using a murine model of acute inflammation, which employs intravital microscopy to monitor leukocyte recruitment into the cremaster muscle. We found that, although R-FSL1, S-FSL1, Pam2CSK4, and Pam3CSK4 were all able to stimulate robust leukocyte recruitment in vivo, LTA remained functionally inert in this in vivo model. Therefore distinct TLR2 ligands elicit unique cellular responses, as evidenced by differences in the kinetic profiles of signaling and gene expression responses in vitro, as well as the physiologically relevant differences in the in vivo responses to these ligands.