The Journal of Experimental Medicine
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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/1998/12/2381/ $5.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 188, Number 12, December 21, 1998 2381-2386

Brief Definitive Reports

A Critical Role of Natural Immunoglobulin M in Immediate Defense Against Systemic Bacterial Infection

Marianne Boes*, Andrey P. Prodeus{ddagger}, Tara Schmidt*, Michael C. Carroll{ddagger}, and Jianzhu Chen*

From the * Center for Cancer Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; and the {ddagger} Center for Blood Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02135

To evaluate the role of natural immunoglobulin (Ig)M in the immediate response against microbial infection, we tested mutant mice that are deficient in secreted (s)IgM in an acute peritonitis model induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). 20% of wild-type mice died within 32 h of CLP, whereas 70% of sIgM-deficient mice died within the same time period. The increased susceptibility was associated with a reduced level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-{alpha}, a decreased neutrophil recruitment and an increased bacterial load in the peritoneum, and elevated levels of endotoxin and proinflammatory cytokines in the circulation. Resistance to CLP by sIgM-deficient mice was restored by reconstitution with polyclonal IgM from normal mouse serum. Reconstitution with a monoclonal IgM specific to phosphatidylcholine, a conserved cell membrane component, has a modest effect but a monoclonal IgM specific to phosphocholine is not protective. These findings demonstrate a critical role of natural IgM in the immediate defense against severe bacterial infection.

Key Words: natural antibody • immunoglobulin M • complement • bacterial infection • immediate defense

Address correspondence to Jianzhu Chen, Center for Cancer Research, MIT, E17-128, 40 Ames St., Cambridge, MA 02139. Phone: 617-258-6173; Fax: 617-258-6172; E-mail: jchen{at}mit.edu


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