1. Natural polyreactive IgA antibodies coat the intestinal microbiota.
- Author
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Bunker JJ, Erickson SA, Flynn TM, Henry C, Koval JC, Meisel M, Jabri B, Antonopoulos DA, Wilson PC, and Bendelac A
- Subjects
- Animals, Antibodies, Monoclonal genetics, Antibodies, Monoclonal immunology, Antigens immunology, B-Lymphocytes immunology, Bacteria immunology, Germ-Free Life immunology, Immunoglobulin A genetics, Intestinal Mucosa immunology, Intestinal Mucosa microbiology, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Peyer's Patches immunology, Symbiosis, Gastrointestinal Microbiome immunology, Immunoglobulin A immunology, Plasma Cells immunology
- Abstract
Large quantities of immunoglobulin A (IgA) are constitutively secreted by intestinal plasma cells to coat and contain the commensal microbiota, yet the specificity of these antibodies remains elusive. Here we profiled the reactivities of single murine IgA plasma cells by cloning and characterizing large numbers of monoclonal antibodies. IgAs were not specific to individual bacterial taxa but rather polyreactive, with broad reactivity to a diverse, but defined, subset of microbiota. These antibodies arose at low frequencies among naïve B cells and were selected into the IgA repertoire upon recirculation in Peyer's patches. This selection process occurred independent of microbiota or dietary antigens. Furthermore, although some IgAs acquired somatic mutations, these did not substantially influence their reactivity. These findings reveal an endogenous mechanism driving homeostatic production of polyreactive IgAs with innate specificity to microbiota., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)
- Published
- 2017
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