Cutting edge: cardiac myosin activates innate immune responses through TLRs

Autoimmune attack on the heart is linked to host immune responses against cardiac myosin, the most abundant protein in the heart. Although adaptive immunity is required for disease, little is known about innate immune mechanisms. In this study we report that human cardiac myosin (HCM) acted as an endogenous ligand to directly stimulate human TLRs 2 and 8 and to activate human monocytes to release proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, pathogenic epitopes of human cardiac myosin, the S2 fragment peptides S2-16 and S2-28, stimulated TLRs directly and activated human monocytes. Our data suggest that cardiac myosin and its pathogenic T cell epitopes may link innate and adaptive immunity in a novel mechanism that could promote chronic inflammation in the myocardium.