Oxytocin system alleviates intestinal inflammation by regulating macrophages polarization in experimental colitis

In this study, we investigated the effect of oxytocin, a neuroendocrinal and pro-health peptide, on the modulation of macrophages polarization and the progression of experimental colitis. Our data demonstrated that oxytocin decreased the sensitivity of macrophages to LPS stimulation with lower expression of inflammatory cytokines, like IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, but increased the sensitivity to IL-4 stimulation with enhanced expression of M2-type genes, arginase (ARG1), CD206, and chitinase-like 3 (Chil3). This bidirectional modulation was partly due to the upregulation of β-arrestin2 and resulted in the inhibition of NF-B signaling and reinforcement of STAT6 phosphorylation. Moreover, OXTR myeloid deficiency mice were more susceptible to DSS intervention compared with the wild mice. For the first time, we reveal that oxytocin-oxytocin receptor system participates in modulating the polarization of macrophages to an anti-inflammatory phenotype and alleviates experimental colitis. These findings provide new potential insights into the pathogenesis and therapy of IBD.

Source: Clinical Science - September 12, 2019 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Tang, Y., Shi, Y., Gao, Y., Xu, X., Han, T., Li, J., Liu, C. Tags: PublishAheadOfPrint Source Type: research