Cyclooxygenase-1 orchestrates germinal center formation and antibody class-switch via regulation of IL-17

The cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes are known modulators of innate immune cell function; however, their contributions to adaptive immunity are relatively unknown. We investigated the roles of COX-1 and COX-2 in the humoral immune response to infection with the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi. We report that in vitro, murine B cells constitutively expressed COX-1 and up-regulated expression of both COX-1 and COX-2 as well as their products PGE(2), PGF(2alpha), and thromboxane B(2) and their receptors following stimulation with B. burgdorferi or anti-CD40. In vitro inhibition of COX-1 and/or COX-2 in murine B cells resulted in decreased eicosanoid production and altered Ab production. Importantly, infection of mice lacking COX-1, but not COX-2, activity resulted in a defect in Ig class-switching and a lack of Borrelia-specific IgG production. This defect correlated with decreased germinal center formation and IL-6 and IL-17 production, and it could be partially recovered by restoration of IL-6, but fully recovered by IL-17. Furthermore, sera from COX-1 inhibitor-treated mice were dramatically less effective in killing B. burgdorferi, but borreliacidal activity was restored in COX-1 inhibitor-treated mice administered IL-17. We conclude that IL-17 plays a role in Ab production and Ig class-switching in response to infection and that COX-1 is a critical, previously unrecognized regulator of this response.