Macrophages induce the inflammatory response in the pulmonary arthus reaction through Gα_i2 activation that controls C5aR and Fc receptor cooperation

Complement and FcγR effector pathways are central triggers of immune inflammation; however, the exact mechanisms for their cooperation with effector cells and their nature remain elusive. In this study we show that in the lung Arthus reaction, the initial contact between immune complexes and alveolar macrophages (AM) results in plasma complement-independent C5a production that causes decreased levels of inhibitory FcγRIIB, increased levels of activating FcγRIII, and highly induced FcγR-mediated TNF-α and CXCR2 ligand production. Blockade of C5aR completely reversed such changes. Strikingly, studies of pertussis toxin inhibition show the essential role of G_i-type G protein signaling in C5aR-mediated control of the regulatory FcγR system in vitro, and analysis of the various C5aR-, FcγR-, and G_i-deficient mice verifies the importance of Gα_i2-associated C5aR and the FcγRIII-FcγRIIB receptor pair in lung inflammation in vivo. Moreover, adoptive transfer experiments of C5aR- and FcγRIII-positive cells into C5aR- and FcγRIII-deficient mice establish AM as responsible effector cells. AM lacking either C5aR or FcγRIII do not possess any such inducibility of immune complex disease, whereas reconstitution with FcγRIIB-negative AM results in an enhanced pathology. These data suggest that AM function as a cellular link of C5a production and C5aR activation that uses a Gα_i2-dependent signal for modulating the two opposing FcγR, FcγRIIB and FcγRIII, in the initiation of the inflammatory cascade in the lung Arthus reaction.