Group III secreted phospholipase A2‐driven lysophospholipid pathway protects against allergic asthma

Abstract Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by recurrent episodes of airway obstruction, hyperresponsiveness, remodeling, and eosinophilia. Phospholipase A 2 s (PLA 2 s), which release fatty acids and lysophospholipids from membrane phospholipids, have been implicated in exacerbating asthma by generating pro‐asthmatic lipid mediators, but an understanding of the association between individual PLA 2 subtypes and asthma is still incomplete. Here, we show that group III‐secreted PLA 2 (sPLA 2 ‐III) plays an ameliorating, rather than aggravating, role in asthma pathology. In both mouse and human lungs, sPLA 2 ‐III was expressed in bronchial epithelial cells and decreased during the asthmatic response. In an ovalbumin (OVA)‐induced asthma model, Pla2g3 −/− mice exhibited enhanced airway hyperresponsiveness, eosinophilia, OVA‐specific IgE production, and type 2 cytokine expression as compared to Pla2g3 +/+ mice. Lipidomics analysis showed that the pulmonary levels of several lysophospholipids, including lysophosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), were decreased in OVA‐challenged Pla2g3 −/− mice relative to Pla2g3 +/+ mice. LPA receptor 2 (LPA 2 ) agonists suppressed thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expression in bronchial epithelial cells and reversed airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilia in Pla2g3 −/− mice, suggesting that sPLA 2 ‐III negatively regulates allergen‐induced asthma at least by producing LPA. Thus, the activation of the sPLA 2 ‐III‐LPA pathway may be a new therapeutic target for allergic asthma.