Galectin-9 Attenuates Acute Lung Injury by Expanding CD14- Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell-like Macrophages

Galectin (Gal)-9 plays a crucial role in the modulation of innate and adaptive immunity. To investigate whether Gal-9 plays a role in a murine acute lung injury (ALI) model. C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with Gal-9 by subcutaneous injection 24 and 48 hours before intranasal LPS inoculation. Gal-9 suppressed pathological changes of ALI induced by LPS. Gal-9 reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and keratinocyte-derived cytokine; decreased neutrophils; and increased IL-10 and CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) macrophages in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of ALI mice. In Gal-9-deficient mice, pathological changes of ALI were exaggerated, and the number of neutrophils and the TNF-α level were increased. CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) cells were increased in the spleen of both Gal-9-treated and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated ALI mice, but only Gal-9 increased the ability of CCR2-expressing macrophages to migrate toward monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Transfer of CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) macrophages obtained from Gal-9-treated mice ameliorated ALI. CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) macrophages obtained from Gal-9-treated but not PBS-treated mice suppressed TNF-α and keratinocyte-derived cytokine production from LPS-stimulated macrophages, and down-regulated Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) and TLR2 expression on thioglycollate-elicited macrophages. Fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis revealed that CD14 is negligible on CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) macrophages obtained from Gal-9-treated mice, although those from both groups resembled plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). Gal-9 down-regulated CD14 on pDC-like macrophages from PBS-treated mice independently of Gal-9/Tim-3 (T-cell immunoglobulin- and mucin domain-containing molecule-3) interaction, resulting in the acquisition of suppressive function, suggesting that the loss of CD14 by Gal-9 is critical for the suppression of pDC-like macrophages. Gal-9 attenuates ALI by expanding CD14(-)CD11b(+)Gr-1(+) pDC-like macrophages by preferentially suppressing macrophage functions to release proinflammatory cytokines through TLR4 and TLR2 down-regulation.