Group X Secreted Phospholipase A2 Releases ω3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Suppresses Colitis, and Promotes Sperm Fertility*

Within the secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) family, group X sPLA2 (sPLA2-X) has the highest capacity to hydrolyze cellular membranes and has long been thought to promote inflammation by releasing arachidonic acid, a precursor of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. Unexpectedly, we found that transgenic mice globally overexpressing human sPLA2-X (PLA2G10-Tg) displayed striking immunosuppressive and lean phenotypes with lymphopenia and increased M2-like macrophages, accompanied by marked elevation of free ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites. Studies using Pla2g10-deficient mice revealed that endogenous sPLA2-X, which is highly expressed in the colon epithelium and spermatozoa, mobilized ω3 PUFAs or their metabolites to protect against dextran sulfate-induced colitis and to promote fertilization, respectively. In colitis, sPLA2-X deficiency increased colorectal expression of Th17 cytokines, and ω3 PUFAs attenuated their production by lamina propria cells partly through the fatty acid receptor GPR120. In comparison, cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2α) protects from colitis by mobilizing ω6 arachidonic acid metabolites, including prostaglandin E2. Thus, our results underscore a previously unrecognized role of sPLA2-X as an ω3 PUFA mobilizer in vivo, segregated mobilization of ω3 and ω6 PUFA metabolites by sPLA2-X and cPLA2α, respectively, in protection against colitis, and the novel role of a particular sPLA2-X-driven PUFA in fertilization.