EBI2 (also called GPR183) is an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor that is highly expressed in spleen and upregulated upon Epstein-Barr-virus infection. Recent studies indicated that this receptor controls follicular B-cell migration and T-cell-dependent antibody production. Oxysterols elicit profound effects on immune and inflammatory responses as well as on cholesterol metabolism. The biological effects of oxysterols have largely been credited to the activation of nuclear hormone receptors. Here we isolate oxysterols from porcine spleen extracts and show that they are endogenous ligands for EBI2. The most potent ligand and activator is 7α,25-dihydroxycholesterol (OHC), with a dissociation constant of 450 pM for EBI2. In vitro, 7α,25-OHC stimulated the migration of EBI2-expressing mouse B and T cells with half-maximum effective concentration values around 500 pM, but had no effect on EBI2-deficient cells. In vivo, EBI2-deficient B cells or normal B cells desensitized by 7α,25-OHC pre-treatment showed reduced homing to follicular areas of the spleen. Blocking the synthesis of 7α,25-OHC in vivo with clotrimazole, a CYP7B1 inhibitor, reduced the content of 7α,25-OHC in the mouse spleen and promoted the migration of adoptively transferred pre-activated B cells to the T/B boundary (the boundary between the T-zone and B-zone in the spleen follicle), mimicking the phenotype of pre-activated B cells from EBI2-deficient mice. Our results show an unexpected causal link between EBI2, an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor controlling B-cell migration, and the known immunological effects of certain oxysterols, thus uncovering a previously unknown role for this class of molecules.

Histamine mediates its physiological function through binding to four known histamine receptors. Here, we describe the first selective antagonist of the histamine H 4 receptor, the newest member of the histamine receptor family, and provide evidence that such antagonists have anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.

Three structural motifs in the invariant chain (li) control the intracellular transport of class II major histocompatibility complex molecules. An endoplasmic reticulum retention signal in the full-length li suggests a role for li in the alpha-beta heterodimer assembly. Another signal motif directs a truncated li, alone or associated with individual class II chains, to a degradation compartment by a pathway circumventing the Golgi. When this truncated li binds alpha-beta dimers, a third signal dominates, directing the complex by way of the Golgi to vesicles in the cell periphery, which may represent a subcompartment of recycling endosomes.