ADAMTS-12 metalloprotease is necessary for normal inflammatory response

ADAMTSs (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin domains) are a family of enzymes with both proteolytic and protein interaction functions, which have been implicated in distinct pathologies. In this work, we have investigated the putative role of ADAMTS-12 in inflammation by using a mouse model deficient in this metalloprotease. Control and mutant mice were subjected to different experimental conditions to induce colitis, endotoxic sepsis, and pancreatitis. We have observed that Adamts12-deficient mice exhibit more severe inflammation and a delayed recovery from these challenges compared with their wild-type littermates. These changes are accompanied by an increase in inflammatory markers including several cytokines, as assessed by microarray expression analysis and proteomic-based approaches. Interestingly, the clinical symptoms observed in Adamts12-deficient mice are also concomitant with an elevation in the number of neutrophils in affected tissues. Finally, isolation and in vitro culture of human neutrophils demonstrate that the presence of ADAMTS-12 induces neutrophil apoptosis. On the basis of these results, we propose that ADAMTS-12 is implicated in the inflammatory response by modulating normal neutrophil apoptosis.