Brian S. Kim (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 현 Feinstein Institute for Medical Research) | 한빛사논문 > 한빛사

한빛사논문

조회70

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 현 Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

CV File

Immunity, Online nowJuly 15, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2026.06.005 Activation of the auricular vagus nerve reflex suppresses airway inflammation

Rintaro Shibuya^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7} ∙ Nobuya Abe^1,3,5,6,8 ∙ Keaton Song^1,3,4,5,6,8 ∙ Nathan D. Rossen^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Masato Tamari⁹ ∙ Zhen Wang^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Zili Xie^1,3,5,6,11 ∙ Yuki Abe^1,3,5,6,8 ∙ Hisato Iriki¹⁰ ∙ Ayana Iijima^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Lydia Zamidar^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Xu Li^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Xia Meng^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Andras Bimbo-Szuhai⁴∙ Veronica Burstein^1,3,4,5 ∙ Jill K. Gregory¹¹ ∙ Natalia P. Biscola^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Karen Anthony^1,2,3,4,5,6 ∙ Michel Enamorado^1,3,4,5 ∙ Steven J. Van Dyken¹² ∙ Kenji Kabashima^7,13 ∙ Hongzhen Hu^1,3,5,6,8 ∙ Brian S. Kim^{1,2,3,4,5,6,14,15}

¹Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
²Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
³Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
⁴Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
⁵Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
⁶Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10019, United States of America
⁷Department of Dermatology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan
⁸Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
⁹Allergy Center, National Center for Child Health and Development, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 157-8535, Japan
¹⁰Laboratory for Skin Homeostasis, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan
¹¹Digital and Technology Partners, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, United States of America
¹²Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, United States of America
¹³Singapore Immunology Network and Skin Research Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A∗STAR), Singapore, 308232, Singapore
¹⁴Lead contact
¹⁵Present address: Laboratory of Neuroimmunology, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, 11030, USA.

Corresponding author: Brian S. Kim

Abstract

The vagus nerve regulates inflammation via sensory-motor arcs. While vagal sensory neurons relay signals from within the body (interoception), whether external inputs can regulate visceral neuroimmune responses (exteroception) remains poorly understood. We unveiled a skin-lung reflex by which sensory neurons from the auricular skin suppressed Alternaria alternata-induced allergic airway inflammation. Viral and chemical neural tracing revealed distinct sensory projections from the vagal ganglia to the auricular skin. Pharmacologic, chemogenetic, and optogenetic activation of auricular transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1)+ afferents attenuated type 2 allergic lung inflammation, including group 2 innate lymphoid cell, eosinophil, and type 2 cytokine responses in the airway. Conversely, silencing of these sensory neurons via the skin exacerbated lung inflammation, and immunosuppression of airway inflammation was dependent on the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)β. These findings reveal an evolutionarily conserved somato-visceral reflex by which exteroceptive inputs impact visceral inflammation. Thus, transcutaneous neuromodulation may represent a therapeutic strategy to treat visceral inflammation.

논문정보