Parasite-induced Lipoxin A4 Is an Endogenous Regulator of IL-12 Production and Immunopathology in Toxoplasma gondii Infection

The production of interleukin (IL)-12 is critical for the development of interferon (IFN)-γ–dependent resistance to Toxoplasma gondii. Nevertheless, when this response is dysregulated, such as occurs in the absence of IL-10, the uncontrolled inflammation that results can have lethal consequences for the host. Recently, we demonstrated that lipoxin (LX)A4, an eicosanoid mediator that depends on 5-lipoxygenase (LO) for its biosynthesis, exerts a regulatory role on dendritic cell IL-12 production triggered artificially by a T. gondii extract. We now formally establish the physiological relevance of this pathway in the systemic control of IL-12 production induced by live T. gondii infection and demonstrate its function to be distinct from that of IL-10. Thus, T. gondii–exposed wild-type, but not 5-LO–deficient animals, produced high levels of serum LXA4 beginning at the onset of chronic infection. Moreover, 5-LO−/−, in contrast to wild-type mice, succumbed during the same period displaying a marked encephalitis. The increased mortality of the 5-LO−/− animals was also associated with significant elevations of IL-12 and IFN-γ and was completely prevented by the administration of a stable LXA4 analogue. Together, these findings demonstrate a new pathway involving the induction of host LXs for the in vivo regulation of proinflammatory responses during microbial infection.