Group V Phospholipase A2 in Bone Marrow-derived Myeloid Cells and Bronchial Epithelial Cells Promotes Bacterial Clearance after Escherichia coli Pneumonia

Abstract Group V-secreted phospholipase A2 (GV sPLA2) hydrolyzes bacterial phospholipids and initiates eicosanoid biosynthesis. Here, we elucidate the role of GV sPLA2 in the pathophysiology of Escherichia coli pneumonia. Inflammatory cells and bronchial epithelial cells both express GV sPLA2 after pulmonary E. coli infection. GV−/− mice accumulate fewer polymorphonuclear leukocytes in alveoli, have higher levels of E. coli in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung, and develop respiratory acidosis, more severe hypothermia, and higher IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α levels than GV+/+ mice after pulmonary E. coli infection. Eicosanoid levels in bronchoalveolar lavage are similar in GV+/+ and GV−/− mice after lung E. coli infection. In contrast, GV+/+ mice have higher levels of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), PGF2α, and 15-keto-PGE2 in lung and express higher levels of ICAM-1 and PECAM-1 on pulmonary endothelial cells than GV−/− mice after lung infection with E. coli. Selective deletion of GV sPLA2 in non-myeloid cells impairs leukocyte accumulation after pulmonary E. coli infection, and lack of GV sPLA2 in either bone marrow-derived myeloid cells or non-myeloid cells attenuates E. coli clearance from the alveolar space and the lung parenchyma. These observations show that GV sPLA2 in bone marrow-derived myeloid cells as well as non-myeloid cells, which are likely bronchial epithelial cells, participate in the regulation of the innate immune response to pulmonary infection with E. coli.