Murine retroviruses activate B cells via interaction with toll-like receptor 4

Although most retroviruses require activated cells as their targets for infection, it is not known how this is achieved in vivo. A candidate protein for the activation of B cells by either mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) or murine leukemia virus is the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a component of the innate immune system. MMTV caused B cell activation in C3H/HeN mice but not in C3H/HeJ or BALB/c (C.C3H Tlr4(lps-d)) congenic mice, both of which have a mutant TLR4 gene. This activation was independent of viral gene expression, because it occurred after treatment of MMTV with ultraviolet light or 2,2′-dithiodipyridine and in azidothymidine-treated mice. Nuclear extracts prepared from the lymphocytes of MMTV-injected C3H/HeN but not C3H/HeJ mice showed increased nuclear factor κB activity. Additionally, the MMTV- and Moloney murine leukemia virus envelope proteins coimmunoprecipitated with TLR4 when expressed in 293T cells. The MMTV receptor failed to coimmunoprecipitate with TLR4, suggesting that MMTV/TLR4 interaction is independent of virus attachment and fusion. These results identify retroviral proteins that interact with a mammalian toll receptor and show that direct activation by such viruses may initiate in vivo infection pathways.