Mycoepoxydiene inhibits antigen-stimulated activation of mast cells and suppresses IgE-mediated anaphylaxis in mice

- Mycoepoxydiene (MED) is a polyketide isolated from a marine fungus.
- MED inhibits degranulation and cytokine production in activated mast cells.
- MED suppresses IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) in mice.
- MED suppresses mast cell activation and PCA through blocking Syk activation.

Mycoepoxydiene (MED) is a polyketide isolated from a marine fungus associated with mangrove forest. It has been shown that MED has many kinds of effects such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. However, its effects on anaphylaxis are still unknown. Mast cells play a pivotal role in IgE-mediated allergic response. Aggregation of the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) on the surface of mast cell activates a cascade of signaling events leading to the degranulation and cytokine production in mast cells. Our study showed that MED could significantly suppress antigen-stimulated degranulation and cytokine production in mast cells and IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) in mice. Furthermore, we found that MED suppressed antigen-induced activation of Syk, and subsequently inhibited the phosphorylation of PLCγ1, Akt, and MAPKs such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38 in mast cells. Collectively, our study demonstrates that MED can inhibit the activation of mast cells and protect mice from mast cell-mediated allergic response through inhibiting the activation of Syk. These results suggest that MED is a potential compound for developing a promising anti-anaphylaxis drug.