Group V secretory phospholipase A2 plays a pathogenic role in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injurcy

Aims Group V secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)-V) is highly expressed in the heart. This study examined (i) the role of sPLA(2)-V in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and (ii) the cooperative action of sPLA(2)-V and cytosolic PLA(2) (cPLA(2)) in myocardial I/R injury, using sPLA(2)-V knockout (sPLA(2)V(-/-)) mice. Methods and results Myocardial I/R injury was created by 1 h ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, followed by 24 h of reperfusion. The sPLA(2)V(-/-) mice had a 44% decrease in myocardial infarct size, a preservation of echocardiographic LV function (%fractional shortening: 40 +/- 3.5 vs. 21 +/- 4.6, respectively), and lower content of leucotriene B-4 (LTB4) and thromboxane B-2 (TXB2) (40 and 37% lower, respectively) in the ischaemic myocardium after I/R compared with wild-type (WT) mice. Intraperitoneal administration of AACOCF3 or MAFP, inhibitors of cPLA(2) activity, decreased myocardial infarct size and myocardial content of LTB4 and TXB2 in both genotyped mice. The decrease in myocardial infarct size and content of LTB4 and TXB4 after cPLA(2) inhibitor administration was greater in WT mice than in sPLA(2)V(-/-) mice. I/R increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases in the ischaemic myocardium in association with cPLA(2) phosphorylation. The I/R-induced increase in the phosphorylation of p38 and cPLA(2) was less in sPLA(2)-V-/- mice than in WT mice. Pretreatment with the p38 inhibitor SB202190 suppressed an increase in cPLA(2) phosphorylation after I/R in WT mice. Conclusion sPLA(2)-V plays an important role in the pathogenesis of myocardial I/R injury partly in concert with the activation of cPLA(2).