Expression of factor V by resident macrophages boosts host defense in the peritoneal cavity

Abstract

Macrophages resident in different organs express distinct genes, but understanding how this diversity fits into tissue-specific features is limited. Here, we show that selective expression of coagulation factor V (FV) by resident peritoneal macrophages in mice promotes bacterial clearance in the peritoneal cavity and serves to facilitate the well-known but poorly understood “macrophage disappearance reaction.” Intravital imaging revealed that resident macrophages were nonadherent in peritoneal fluid during homeostasis. Bacterial entry into the peritoneum acutely induced macrophage adherence and associated bacterial phagocytosis. However, optimal control of bacterial expansion in the peritoneum also required expression of FV by the macrophages to form local clots that effectively brought macrophages and bacteria in proximity and out of the fluid phase. Thus, acute cellular adhesion and resident macrophage–induced coagulation operate independently and cooperatively to meet the challenges of a unique, open tissue environment. These events collectively account for the macrophage disappearance reaction in the peritoneal cavity.