Kevin Nickerson

Nucleic acid–specific Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been implicated in promoting disease pathogenesis in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Whether such TLRs mediate disease onset, progression, or both remains undefined; yet the answer to this question has important therapeutic implications. MyD88 is an essential adaptor that acts downstream of IL-1 family receptors and most TLRs. Both global and B cell–specific Myd88 deficiency ameliorated disease in lupus-prone mice when constitutively deleted. To address whether Myd88 was needed to sustain ongoing disease, we induced B cell–specific deletion of Myd88 after disease onset in MRL.Faslpr mice using an inducible Cre recombinase. B cell–specific deletion of Myd88 starting after disease onset resulted in ameliorated glomerulonephritis and interstitial inflammation. Additionally, treated mice had reduced autoantibody formation and an altered B cell compartment with reduced ABC and plasmablast numbers. These experiments demonstrate the role of MyD88 in B cells to sustain disease in murine lupus. Therefore, targeting MyD88 or its upstream activators may be a viable therapeutic option in SLE.