Here, we demonstrated that sTLR2 in BM has dual utility by providing both anti-inflammatory and anti-viral functions: (1) sTLR2 depleted BM led to significantly increased IL-8 pro-inflammatory cytokine production in U937, HEK293-TLR2 and human IECs exposed to PAM3CSK4; (2) Inhibition of sTLR2 through the addition of TLR2-specific antibodies as well as sTLR2-depleted BM led to significantly increased HIV-1 infection in TZM-bl reporter assays. Here, CXCL8 is linked to HIV-1 infection.