La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine Scientists Discover New Link Between Serotonin and Airway Allergic Inflammation

Cutting Edge Research Report in September 15th Issue of the Journal of Immunology Shows Potential for Treating Allergic Asthma

13-Sep-2004

Scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Molecular medicine (LJIMM) have discovered that serotonin, a naturally occurring neurotransmitter that is elevated in the blood of asthmatics, can directly cause an influx of eosinophils, which are proinflammatory cells generated in the bone marrow. These cells are recruited to sites of allergic inflammation, including the lungs, where they release toxic substances to produce symptoms of allergic reactions, including asthma. Their report demonstrates that serotonin attracts eosinophils because of its ability to interact with a serotonin-specific receptor called 5-HT2A. The study's findings suggest blocking the interaction between serotonin and the 5-HT2A receptor expressed on eosinophils with selective drugs could alleviate the symptoms of allergic diseases, thus potentially improving patients' quality of life. These findings are reported in the September 15th issue of The Journal of immunology.

Drs. P. Sriramarao, Stefen A. Boehme, Terlika S. Pandit, Savita P. Rao and Lyudmila Sikora of LJIMM and Francisco Lio and Karine Lavrador of Neurocrine Biosciences, San Diego, were co-authors of the article, titled "Cutting Edge: Serotonin is a Chemotactic Factor for Eosinophils and Functions Additively with Eotaxin." Using a variety of research tools, they found that one of the many cellular functions of serotonin is to chemically attract eosinophils circulating in the blood stream to inflamed tissue sites, including asthmatic lungs. Overall, this research could lead to a way to block serotonin's recruitment of eosinophils and their subsequent release of pro-inflammatory mediators that worsen the symptoms of allergic inflammation, such as asthma.

"While experimental in finding, these new observations could lead the way to a novel series of drugs targeting the serotonin receptor which, when used alone or in conjunction with existing anti-allergic drugs, could further alleviate symptoms of allergic inflammation including asthma," commented Dr. Sriramarao, Professor and Head, Division of Vascular Biology and the senior author of this study.

The La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine (LJIMM) is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institute founded in 1989. Since its founding, the institute has become an innovative center for discovery, collaboration, and training in cancer biology, molecular immunology and the vascular biology of allergic inflammation/asthma as well as cardiovascular disease.

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