G. Mancuso et al., ANTI-LIPOTEICHOIC ACID ANTIBODIES ENHANCE RELEASE OF CYTOKINES BY MONOCYTES SENSITIZED WITH LIPOTEICHOIC ACID, Infection and immunity, 62(4), 1994, pp. 1470-1473
Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) from gram-positive bacteria can stimulate mono
cytes to produce cytokines. To ascertain whether aggregation of LTA re
ceptors can contribute to this effect, human monocytes were sensitized
with LTA from Streptococcus pyogenes, washed, and treated with anti-L
TA antibodies. The addition of anti-LTA antibodies or F(ab')(2) fragme
nts markedly enhanced the aggregation of LTA receptors, as evidenced b
y indirect immunofluorescence and the release of tumor necrosis factor
alpha and interleukin-1 beta. These findings suggest that aggregation
of LTA receptors of monocytes is required for triggering marked cytok
ine responses.