Irinotecan reduced the animal survival (50%) and induced a pronounced diarrhea, increased bacteremia, neutrophil accumulation in the intestinal tissue, intestinal damage and more than twofold increased expression of MyD88 (200%), TLR9 (400%), TRAF6 (236%), IL–1β (405%), IL–18 (365%), COX–2 (2,777%) and NF-κB (245%) in the WT animals when compared with saline-injected group (P<0.05). Here, MYD88 is linked to bacterial infectious disease with sepsis.