Substance P primes lipoteichoic acid- and Pam3CysSerLys4- mediated activation of human mast cells by up-regulating Toll-like receptor 2

Substance P (SP) is a neuropeptide with neuroimmunoregulatory activity that may play a role in susceptibility to infection. Human mast cells which are important in innate immune responses, were analysed for their responses to pathogen-associated molecules via Toll-like receptors (TLRs in the presence of SP. Human cultured mast cells (LAD2) were activated by SP and TLR ligands including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Pam3CysSer- Lys4 (Pam3CSK4) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and mast cell leukotriene and chemokine production was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gene expression by quantitative PCR (qPCR).Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye