IntroductionMononuclear phagocytes play a vital role in innate immune defense 1 and in disease states such as diabetes, 2 atherosclerosis, 3 and emphysema. 4 The mononuclear phagocyte system encompasses both circulating peripheral blood monocytes and tissue macrophages. 5 It is generally believed that monocytes and macrophages originate from a common myeloid precursor in the bone marrow. 6 Tissue macrophages may derive from either local proliferation or from recruitment of peripheral monocytes. Although local proliferation may play a role under steady-state conditions, repopulation of resident tissue macrophages in the setting of inflammation is more dependent on the recruitment of precursor cells from the blood. 7 After emigrating from the blood to the tissues, monocytes continue the process of maturation and undergo the final differentiation steps necessary to become a macrophage. 8 Macrophage maturation also has been studied in vitro, with a commonly used protocol consisting of bone marrow cells cultured in the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). This in vitro approach results in a high yield of relatively homogenous primary macrophages that are not conditioned by the tissue microenvironment.Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) is a lipid mediator derived from the metabolism of arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase (COX). It is the most abundant prostanoid in most tissues, and it is a well-known regulator of numerous physiologic and pathophysiologic processes, including blood flow, 9 parturition, 10 fever, and cancer and inflammation. 11 PGE 2 exerts its actions through 4 different types of G protein-coupled receptors called E prostanoid (EP) receptors 1 to 4. PGE 2 has diverse effects on differentiation, migration, and activation of immune cells, including lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and macrophages. Its effects on macrophage functions have been amply documented to be mainly suppressive, 12,13 reflecting an increase in the levels of the intracellular second messenger cAMP generated on ligation of EP2 and EP4 receptors. 14 By contrast, there is little known about the role of PGE 2 /cAMP in macrophage maturation. Questions of how PGE 2 affects macrophage maturation, whether endogenously generated PGE 2 modulates this process, the role of specific EP receptors in such effects, and whether PGE 2 influences macrophage maturation in vivo remain unanswered.Here, we have used pharmacologic and genetic approaches to determine the role of PGE 2 /EP2 signaling in the regulation of macrophage maturation in vitro and in vivo. We report that PGE 2 /EP2 signaling suppresses macrophage maturation, and we have characterized key afferent and efferent mechanisms for this effect. Because PGE 2 production is altered by both disease states and medications, and because maturation status influences macrophage functions, these findings have broad implications.
Methods
AnimalsMice harboring a targeted deletion of both alleles of the ptger2 encoding the EP2 receptor were originally generated by Dr Richard Breyer (Vanderbilt...