ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the results of studies in various knockout mice on the response to endotoxin and gram-negative bacteria, with a specific focus on CD14. The response to endotoxin and/or gram-negative bacteria is a complicated cascade of events mediated by a plethora of molecules including cell surface receptors, cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, and transcription factors regulating the expression of these molecules. To examine the effects of CD 14 deficiency on bacterial spread, blood and tissue samples were taken 7 hours after injection with live E. coli 0111 and were processed for the enumeration of recoverable live bacteria. proteins required for signal transduction. One possibility is that this low-affinity receptor is the signal transducer and that CD 14 is required for a high-affinity response. The production of mice lacking other specific genes encoding molecules that play a role in inflammation is beginning to reveal key aspects of their individual functions.
