| First Author | Jones DD | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 189 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 1440-7 |
| PubMed ID | 22730531 | Mgi Jnum | J:189791 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5446997 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.1200878 |
| Citation | Jones DD, et al. (2012) Antigen-driven induction of polyreactive IgM during intracellular bacterial infection. J Immunol 189(3):1440-7 |
| abstractText | Polyreactivity is well known as a property of natural IgM produced by B-1 cells. We demonstrate that polyreactive IgM is also generated during infection of mice with Ehrlichia muris, a tick-borne intracellular bacterial pathogen. The polyreactive IgM bound self and foreign Ags, including single-stranded and double-stranded DNA, insulin, thyroglobulin, LPS, influenza virus, and Borrelia burgdorferi. Production of polyreactive IgM during infection was Ag driven, not due to polyclonal B cell activation, as the majority of polyreactive IgM recognized ehrlichial Ag(s), including an immunodominant outer membrane protein. Monoclonal polyreactive IgM derived from T cell-independent spleen plasmablasts, which was germline-encoded, also bound cytoplasmic and nuclear Ags in HEp-2 cells. Polyreactive IgM protected immunocompromised mice against lethal bacterial challenge infection. Serum from human ehrlichiosis patients also contained polyreactive and self-reactive IgM. We propose that polyreactivity increases IgM efficacy during infection but may also exacerbate or mollify the response to foreign and self Ags. |
