Heterozygous Toll-Like Receptor 2 Polymorphism Does Not Affect Lipoteichoic Acid-Induced Chemokine and Inflammatory Responses

While transfection of tlr2 conveyed responsiveness to lipoteichoic acid (LTA), the Arg753Gln polymorphic gene could not. LTA induced a stronger chemokine and anti-inflammatory response than lipopolysaccharides did. Blood from heterozygous polymorphic and wild-type donors reacted uniformly to LTA and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, one functional allele for Toll-like receptor 2 suffices for full cytokine response.