Female C57BL/6 WT (Harlan Ibérica S.L., Barcelona) and TLR4 knockout (TLR4-KO) mice (C57BL/6 background, kindly provided by Dr. S. Akira, Osaka University, Japan) were used. Animals were kept under controlled light and dark conditions (12/12 h) at a temperature of 23°C and at 60% humidity. All the animal experiments were carried out in accordance with the guidelines set out in European Communities Council Directive (86/609/ECC) and Spanish Royal Decree 1201/2005. The experimental procedures were approved by the Ethical Committee of Animal Experimentation of the Prince Felipe Research Center (Protocol numbers 08-0060 and 08-0099) and were in accordance with the recommendations in the ARRIVE Guidelines for the care and use of experimental animals.
