Damnacanthal inhibits IgE receptor-mediated activation of mast cells

•The anthraquinone damnacanthal completely inhibits mast cell degranulation upon IgE-R-cross-linking and calcium ionophore stimulation.•Damnacanthal abrogates gene induction and cytokine/chemokine release following antigen-induced mast cell activation.•Damnacanthal inhibition is mediated by impaired phosphorylation of Syk and Akt. Damnacanthal, an anthraquinone obtained from the noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia L.), has been described to possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Since mast cells are key players in various inflammatory conditions as well as in cancer, we considered the possibility that the biological actions of damnacanthal, at least partly, could be due to effects on mast cells. Many of the biological activities of mast cells are mediated by IgE receptor cross-linking, which results in degranulation with release of preformed granule mediators, as well as de novo synthesis and release of additional compounds. Here we show that damnacanthal has profound inhibitory activity on mast cell activation through this pathway. The release of the granule compounds beta-hexosaminidase and tryptase release was completely abrogated by damnacanthal at doses that were non-toxic to mast cells. In addition, damnacanthal inhibited activation-dependent pro-inflammatory gene induction, as well as cytokine/chemokine release in response to mast cell stimulation. The mechanism underlying damnacanthal inhibition was linked to impaired phosphorylation of Syk and Akt. Furthermore, damnacanthal inhibited mast cell activation in response to calcium ionophore A23187. Altogether, the data presented here demonstrate that damnacanthal inhibits mast cell activation induced by different stimuli and open a new window for the use of this compound as a mast cell stabilizer.