Toll-like receptor 9 promotes cardiac inflammation and heart failure during polymicrobial sepsis.

Background: Aim was to elucidate the role of toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) in cardiac inflammation and septic heart failure in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis.

Methods: Sepsis was induced via colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) in C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and TLR9-deficient (TLR9-D) mice. Bacterial load in the peritoneal cavity and cardiac expression of inflammatory mediators were determined at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 h.