Calcitonin gene-related peptide promotes epithelial reparative and anti-colitic functions of IL-4 educated human macrophages

Interleukin-4 activated human macrophages (M(IL4) promote epithelial wound healing and exert an anti-colitic effect in a murine model. Blood monocyte-derived M(IL4)s from healthy donors and individuals with Crohn's disease had increased mRNA expression of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor chain, RAMP1, raising the issue of neural modulation of the M(IL4)s reparative function. Thus, human (MIL4)s were treated with CGRP and the cells phagocytotic, epithelial wound repair and anti-colitic functions were assessed. Initial studies confirmed up-regulation of expression of the CGRP receptor, which was localized to the cell surface and was functional as determined by CGRP-evoked increases in cAMP. M(IL4,CGRP)s had increased mannose receptor (CD206) and FcgRIIa (CD32a) mRNA expression, a subtle, but significant increase in phagocytosis, and decreased chemokine production following exposure to E. coli. When delivered systemically (10 6 cells, ip.) to oxazolone-treated rag1 -/- mice, M(IL4,CGRP) had an anti-colitic effect superior to M(IL4)s from the same blood donor. Conditioned medium (CM) from M(IL4,CGRP) had increased amounts of TGFb and increased wound-healing capacity compared to matched M(IL4)-CM in the human CaCo2 epithelial cell line in vitro wounding assay. Moreover, M(IL4,CGRP)s displayed increased cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and prostaglandin D 2 , and CM from M(IL4,CGRP)s treated with indomethacin or SC-560 to inhibit COX1 activity failed to promote repair of wounded CaCo2 cell monolayers. These data confirm the human M(IL4)s' anti-colitic effect that was enhanced by CGRP, and may be partially dependent on macrophage COX1/PDG 2 activity. Thus, input from neurone-derived molecules is a local modifier capable of boosting the anti-colitic effect of autologous M(IL4) transfer.