The Journal of Experimental Medicine
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Published online 11 July 2005 doi:10.1084/jem.20050248
Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007 $8.00
JEM, Volume 202, Number 2, 217-224
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BRIEF DEFINITIVE REPORT

 The neuropeptide neuromedin U promotes inflammation by direct activation of mast cells

Maiko Moriyama1,2, Takahiro Sato1, Hiromasa Inoue3, Satoru Fukuyama3,4, Hitoshi Teranishi1, Kenji Kangawa5, Tatsuhiko Kano2, Akihiko Yoshimura4, and Masayasu Kojima1

1 Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Life Science, Kurume University, Fukuoka, 839-0864, Japan
2 Department of Anesthesiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Fukuoka, 830-0011, Japan
3 Research Institute for Diseases of the Chest, Graduate School of Medical Sciences
4 Division of Molecular and Cellular Immunology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan
5 Department of Biochemistry, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, 565-8565, Japan

CORRESPONDENCE Maiko Moriyama: moriyama{at}lsi.kurume-u.ac.jp OR Masayasu Kojima: mkojima{at}lsi.kurume-u.ac.jp

Neuromedin U (NMU) is a neuropeptide that is expressed in the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system. NMU interacts with two G protein–coupled receptors, NMU-R1 and NMU-R2. Whereas NMU-R2 localizes predominantly to nerve cells, NMU-R1 is expressed in peripheral tissues including lymphocytes and monocytes, suggesting a role of NMU in immunoregulation. However, the functions of NMU in peripheral tissues have not been clarified. In this study, using NMU-deficient mice, we first demonstrated that NMU plays an important role in mast cell-mediated inflammation. Complete Freund's adjuvant-induced mast cell degranulation as well as edema and neutrophil infiltration, which occurred weakly in mast cell–deficient WBB6F1-W/Wv mice, did not occur in NMU-deficient mice. Moreover, intraplantar injection of NMU into paws induced early inflammatory responses such as mast cell degranulation, vasodilation, and plasma extravasation in WT mice but not in WBB6F1-W/Wv mice. NMU-R1 was highly expressed in primary mast cells, and NMU induced Ca2+ mobilization and degranulation in peritoneal mast cells. These data indicate that NMU promotes mast cell–mediated inflammation; therefore, NMU receptor antagonists could be a novel target for pharmacological inhibition of mast cell–mediated inflammatory diseases.

M. Moriyama and T. Sato contributed equally to this work.


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