Oxidized phospholipids impair pulmonary antibacterial defenses: evidence in mice exposed to cigarette smoke

Patients with COPD are associated with poor pulmonary anti-bacterial innate defenses, which increase the risk for frequent acute exacerbations caused by bacterial infection. Despite elevated numbers of phagocytes (macrophages and neutrophils), airways of patients with COPD show stable bacterial colonization. A defect in the phagocytic ability of alveolar macrophages (AMs) is one of the primary reasons for failure to clear the invading bacteria in airways of smokers and COPD patients and also in mice exposed to cigarette smoke (CS). Oxidative stress, as a result of CS exposure is implicated; however, the factors or mediators that inhibit phagocytic activity of AMs in lungs of smokers remain unclear. In the current study, we provide evidence that accumulation of oxidized phospholipids (Ox-PLs) mediate inhibition of phagocytic function of AMs in CS-exposed mice. Mice exposed to 6months of CS showed impaired bacterial phagocytosis and clearance by AMs and elevated levels of Ox-PLs in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), compared to mice exposed to room air. Intratracheal instillation of oxidized 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (OX-PAPC) inhibited phagocytic activity of AMs and impaired pulmonary bacterial clearance in mice. In vitro studies demonstrated that exposure of J774 macrophages to OX-PAPC inhibited bacterial phagocytosis and clearance. However, pre-treatment of OX-PAPC with the monoclonal antibody EO6, which specifically binds to oxidized phospholipid but not native phospholipid, abolished OX-PAPC induced inhibition of bacterial phagocytosis and clearance. Incubation of BALF retrieved from CS-exposed mice impaired bacterial phagocytosis by J774 macrophages, which was abolished by pre-treatment of BALF with the EO6 antibody. In conclusion, our study shows that Ox-PLs generated following chronic CS exposure could play a crucial role in inhibiting phagocytic function of AMs and thus impair pulmonary anti-bacterial innate defenses in CS-exposed mice. Therapeutic approaches that augment pulmonary antioxidant defenses could be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress-driven impairment of phagocytosis by AMs in smokers and COPD patients.