Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Regulates the Potential Antigen Uptake Ability of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

In this study we tried to explore whether calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) regulates the potential antigen uptaking ability of human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) and promoting the differentiation of Th1/Th2. We found that CGRP increased the uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled ovalbumin (FITC-OVA) by HBECs using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. MTT assay showed that T cells proliferated in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of OVA-pretreated HBECs and CGRP inhibited the proliferation of T cells. CGRP decreased secretion of IFN-gamma, while it had no influence on secretion of IL-4 by ELISA. Our data suggest that CGRP enhanced HBECs antigen uptake ability and inhibits HBECs induced T cells proliferation.