It has been suggested that duplication of IRAK1, which is involved in mediating proinflammatory immune responses in Toll-like receptor (TLR)/IL-1R signalling pathways [124], may contribute to the occurrence of recurrent infections in MDS [16, 18, 29, 46], and susceptibility to pyogenic bacteria [18]. Here, IRAK1 is linked to myelodysplastic syndrome.