Phosphatidylinositides bind to plasma membrane CD14 and can prevent monocyte activation by bacterial lipopolysaccharide. 
Although bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and several other microbial agonists can bind to mCD14 (membrane CD14), a cell-surface receptor found principally on monocytes and neutrophils, host-derived mCD14 ligands are poorly defined. We report here that phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, and other phosphatidylinositides can bind to mCD14. Phosphatidylserine (PS), another anionic glycerophospholipid, binds to mCD14 with lower apparent affinity than does PtdIns. LPS-binding protein, a lipid transfer protein found in serum, facilitates both PS- and PtdIns-mCD14 binding. PtdIns binding to mCD14 can be blocked by anti-CD14 monoclonal antibodies that inhibit LPS-mCD14 binding, and PtdIns can inhibit both LPS-mCD14 binding and LPS-induced responses in monocytes. Serum-equilibrated PtdIns also binds to mCD14-expressing cells, raising the possibility that endogenous PtdIns may modulate cellular responses to LPS and other mCD14 ligands in vivo.