V. Balloy et al. / Open Journal of Immunology 1 (2011) **-**
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101101
tion whether B. cenocepacia expresses flagellin in vivo
during an acute infection versus the agar bead model of
infection. This possibility is not with precedent, as
members of the genus Bord etella, which are responsible
for a variety of acute bronchial infections repress flagel-
lum production upon entry into the airways [30]. Lastly,
while we have chosen to examine the role of LPS medi-
ated inflammation in death, it is likely that other viru-
lence factors may also be involved, as some TLR4-/-
mice do still die. This organism is known to have at least
four protein secretion systems, any or all of which may
also be involved in death. Analysis of these factors is
however beyond the scope of this study.
It is concluded that B. cenocepacia induces a hyperin-
flammatory state mediated through its very potent LPS
[10,12]. However, suppression of the LPS-TLR4 inter-
action and the consequent down-regulation of lung in-
flammation still leaves an effective innate immune re-
sponse that is capable of controlling bacterial growth.
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work is supported by Institut Pasteur, Inserm and Legs Poix.
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