Puerperal sepsis is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus; GAS) is a major etiologic agent of severe postpartum sepsis yet little is known regarding the pathogenesis of these infections. Tissue macrophages provide innate defense against GAS and their actions are highly regulated. The intracellular second messenger cAMP can negatively regulate macrophage actions against GAS. Because leukotriene (LT) B4 has been shown to suppress intracellular cAMP in macrophages, we hypothesized that it could enhance innate defenses against GAS. We assessed the capacity of LTB4 to modulate anti-streptococcal actions of human macrophages, including placental and decidual macrophages and used a novel intrauterine infection model of GAS in mice lacking the 5-lipoxygenase (5LO) enzyme to determine the role of endogenous LTs in host defense against this pathogen. Animals lacking 5LO were significantly more vulnerable to intrauterine GAS infection than wild-type mice and showed enhanced dissemination of bacteria out of the uterus and a more robust inflammatory response compared to wild-type mice. Additionally, LTB4 reduced intracellular cAMP levels via the BLT1 receptor and was a potent stimulant of macrophage phagocytosis and NADPH oxidase-dependent intracellular killing of GAS. Importantly, interference was observed between the macrophage immunomodulatory actions of LTB4 and the cAMP-inducing lipid prostaglandin E2, suggesting that interplay between pro- and anti-inflammatory compounds may be important in vivo. This work underscores the potential for pharmacological targeting of lipid mediator signaling cascades in the treatment of invasive GAS infections.

Prostaglandins (PGs) and leukotrienes (LTs) are produced in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-infected lungs and have immune suppressive and protective effects, respectively. Considering that both of these mediators are produced during mycobacterial infection, we investigated the specific and relative biological importance of each in regulating host response in experimental tuberculosis. Administration of celecoxib, which was found to reduce lung levels of PGE2 and increase LTB4, enhanced the 60-day survival of Mtb-infected mice in 14%. However, administration of MK886, which reduced levels of LTB4 but did not enhance PGE2, reduced 60-day survival from 86% to 43% in Mtb-infected mice, and increased lung bacterial burden. MK 886 plus celecoxib reduced survival to a lesser extent than MK 886 alone. MK 886- and MK-886 plus celecoxib-treated animals exhibited reduced levels of the protective interleukin-12 and gamma-interferon. Our findings indicate that in this model, the protective effect of LTs dominates over the suppressive effect of PGs.

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