Pro-inflammatory events induced by plasma lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Adapted from Laugerette et al. (2011); Vors et al. (2014). If reaching the bloodstream, LPS are taken up by a specific transport glycoprotein, the lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), towards immune cells (such as macrophages). Immune cell activation requires a specific molecular complex consisting of the membrane form of the cluster of differentiation 14 (mCD14), the Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) and the Myeloid Differentiation protein-2 (MD2). The mCD14 is a glycoprotein able to bind the LPS-LBP complex, which can then fix on the TLR4 receptor and the co-receptor MD2 and then mediate signal transduction via the activation of NF-κB (Nuclear Factor-κB). This signalization cascade results in the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, etc.).