Study of the Role of Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 Alpha in Eicosanoid Generation and Thymocyte Maturation in the Thymus

The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ, home of maturation and selection of thymocytes for generation of functional T-cells. Multiple factors are involved throughout the different stages of the maturation process to tightly regulate T-cell production. The metabolism of arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases and specific isomerases generates eicosanoids, lipid mediators capable of triggering cellular responses. In this study, we determined the profile of expression of the eicosanoids present in the mouse thymus at different stages of thymocyte development. As the group IVA cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2α) catalyzes the hydrolysis of phospholipids, thereby generating arachidonic acid, we further verified its contribution by including cPLA2α deficient mice to our investigations. We found that a vast array of eicosanoids is expressed in the thymus, which expression is substantially modulated through thymocyte development. The cPLA2α was dispensable in the generation of most eicosanoids in the thymus and consistently, the ablation of the cPLA2α gene in mouse thymus and the culture of thymuses from human newborns in presence of the cPLA2α inhibitor pyrrophenone did not impact thymocyte maturation. This study provides information on the eicosanoid repertoire present during thymocyte development and suggests that thymocyte maturation can occur independently of cPLA2α.