Stimulation of Toll-Like Receptors profoundly influences the titer of polyreactive antibodies in the circulation

Polyreactive antibodies are a major component of the natural antibody repertoire and bind to a variety of structurally unrelated molecules. These antibodies are thought to provide a first line of defense against bacterial infections and play a major role in the clearance of apoptotic cells. What triggers the secretion of these antibodies has remained an enigma. Using a surrogate assay for measuring polyreactive antibodies, we found that about 50% of serum IgM is polyreactive and that stimulation of TLR4(+/+), but not TLR4(-/-), mice resulted in a 40 fold increase in polyreactive antibodies. Stimulation of TLRs 3, 7, 9 also increased the secretion of polyreactive antibodies. Infection with a virus or tissue damage induced by a toxin similarly led to an increase in polyreactive antibodies in MyD88(+/+), but not MyD88(-/-) mice. We conclude that stimulation of TLRs is a key link in the mechanism of polyreactive antibody secretion into the circulation.