SPON2 and inflammatory response: Guleng et al. demonstrated that mRNA expression of mindin is upregulated during dextran sulfate sodium-induced acute intestinal inflammation and is also upregulated by CpG-ODN (a known TLR-9 ligand) stimulation in vitro. Moreover, mindin induces nuclear-factor- (NF-) κB promoter activation in a TLR-9 mediated manner [31].