Abstract
To study the function of γ-glutamyl leukotrienase (GGL), a newly identified member of the γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) family, we generated null mutations in GGL (GGLtm1) and in both GGL and GGT (GGLtm1-GGTtm1) by a serial targeting strategy using embryonic stem cells. Mice homozygous for GGLtm1 show no obvious phenotypic changes. Mice deficient in both GGT and GGL have a phenotype similar to the GGT-deficient mice, but ∼70% of these mice die before 4 weeks of age, at least 2 months earlier than mice deficient only in GGT. These double-mutant mice are unable to cleave leukotriene C4 (LTC4) to LTD4, indicating that this conversion is completely dependent on the two enzymes, and in some organs (spleen and uterus) deletion of GGL alone abolished more than 90% of this activity. In an experimental model of peritonitis, GGL alone is responsible for the generation of peritoneal LTD4. Further, during the development of peritonitis, GGL-deficient mice show an attenuation in neutrophil recruitment but not of plasma protein influx. These findings demonstrate an important role for GGL in the inflammatory response and suggest that LTC4 and LTD4 have distinctly different functions in the inflammatory process.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by NIH grant ES-07827.
We thank Donna Atwood, Andrew Bahler, Christopher Danney, Cathy Guo, and Pei Wang for technical assistance.