Differential expression of CD14-dependent and independent pathways for chemokine induction regulates neutrophil trafficking in infection.

Previous studies have shown that CD14(-/-) mice are resistant to peritoneal infection with some clinical isolates of Escherichia coli and that this resistance is accompanied by an enhanced ability to clear the bacteria; in contrast, normal mice expressing CD14 fail to clear the bacteria, causing severe sepsis and death. The enhanced clearance in CD14(-/-) mice is dependent on early neutrophil recruitment to the local foci of infection in the PC. The studies described show that neutrophil recruitment in CD14(-/-) mice occurs as a result of the local induction of the CXCL1 and CXCL2 chemokines, KC and MIP-2. Although local induction of these chemokines also occurs in normal mice, their effects on neutrophil recruitment to the PC appear to be counterbalanced by very high levels of these chemokines in the blood of normal, but not CD14(-/-), mice. Neutrophil recruitment to the PC is also inhibited in normal mice in response to LPS, which also induces high chemokine levels in the blood of normal, but not CD14(-/-), mice. However, MPLA, a monophosphorylated derivative of LPS, is able to induce early neutrophil recruitment in normal mice; this is because MPLA, unlike LPS or E. coli, induces MIP-2 and KC in the PC but not in the blood of normal mice. The pretreatment of normal mice with MPLA is able to protect them from a lethal E. coli infection. Thus, stimulation of a local CD14-independent chemokine induction pathway without triggering a systemic CD14-dependent chemokine pathway can protect against severe E. coli infections.