Detrimental Role of Nerve Injury-Induced Protein 1 in Myeloid Cells under Intestinal Inflammatory Conditions

Nerve injury-induced protein 1 (Ninjurin1, Ninj1) is a cell-surface adhesion molecule that regulates cell migration and attachment. This study demonstrates the increase in Ninj1 protein expression during development of intestinal inflammation. Ninj1-deficient mice exhibited significantly attenuated bodyweight loss, shortening of colon length, intestinal inflammation, and lesser pathological lesions than wild-type mice. Although more severe inflammation and serious lesions are observed in wild-type mice than Ninj1-deficient mice, there were no changes in the numbers of infiltrating macrophages in the inflamed tissues obtained from WT and Ninj1-deficient mice. Ninj1 expression results in activation of macrophages, and these activated macrophages secrete more cytokines and chemokines than Ninj1-deficient macrophages. Moreover, mice with conditional deletion of Ninj1 in myeloid cells (Ninj1(fl/fl); Lyz-Cre+) alleviated experimental colitis compared with wild-type mice. In summary, we propose that the Ninj1 in myeloid cells play a pivotal function in intestinal inflammatory conditions.