-Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a bioactive phospholipid, plays an important role in lung inflammation by inducing the release of chemokines and lipid mediators. Our previous studies have shown that LPA induces the secretion of interleukin-8 and prostaglandin E 2 in lung epithelial cells. Here, we demonstrate that LPA receptors contribute to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. Pretreatment with LPA receptor antagonist Ki16425 or downregulation of LPA receptor 1 (LPA 1) by small-interfering RNA (siRNA) attenuated LPS-induced phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, I-B kinase, and I-B in MLE12 epithelial cells. In addition, the blocking of LPA 1 also suppressed LPS-induced IL-6 production. Furthermore, LPS treatment promoted interaction between LPA 1 and CD14, a LPS coreceptor, in a time-and dose-dependent manner. Disruption of lipid rafts attenuated the interaction between LPA 1 and CD14. Mice challenged with LPS increased plasma LPA levels and enhanced expression of LPA receptors in lung tissues. To further investigate the role of LPA receptors in LPSinduced inflammation, wild-type, or LPA 1-deficient mice, or wildtype mice pretreated with Ki16425 were intratracheally challenged with LPS for 24 h. Knock down or inhibition of LPA 1 decreased LPS-induced IL-6 release in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and infiltration of cells into alveolar space compared with wild-type mice. However, no significant differences in total protein concentration in BAL fluids were observed. These results showed that knock down or inhibition of LPA1 offered significant protection against LPS-induced lung inflammation but not against pulmonary leak as observed in the murine model for lung injury. lysophospholipid; signal transduction; lipopolysaccharide; inflammation; acute lung injury; lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1; interleukin-6 ACUTE LUNG INJURY (ALI) is characterized by acute respiratory failure resulting from destruction of the epithelium-capillary interface, inflammation, and extravasations of protein-rich fluid (14,26,35). The lung epithelium is the site of first contact for both inflammatory and inhaled physical environmental stimuli, acting as a physical barrier between lung interstitium and environment (30,34). Disruption of epithelial barrier integrity results in paracellular leakage of relatively large proteins, such as albumin and immunoglobulin G, into alveolar spaces (15,18,19). Thus, the epithelium not only functions as a barrier but also secretes cytokines, chemokines, and lipid mediators to attract and activate a number of resident and infiltrating cells that play a role in airway inflammation (21, 25). Our previous studies have shown that bronchial epithelial cells release interleukin (IL)-8 (7, 43, 48), IL-6 (49), and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) (17, 47) in response to bioactive lipid mediators and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), resulting in the infiltration of neutrophils into alveolar space (7, 47). The LPS-induced murine model of lung injury has been widely used to investigate mechanisms of ALI (18,31,40). Intratra...