Peptide directoryGut, pancreas & liver

Neuromedin B

The second human bombesin, with a receptor of its own.

Where it comes from

Made in
Brain (hypothalamus, hippocampus), pituitary, gut, lung
Sent out by
Neural; little is known of what times it
Acts on
  • Hypothalamus and pituitary
  • Gut smooth muscle
  • Itch neurons

What it does

  • Suppresses feeding and holds back TSH release in animals
  • Contracts gut smooth muscle, and is the most abundant bombesin-like peptide in parts of the rat brain 1
  • Carries itch, but a different kind from GRP: blocking NMB blunts histamine-driven itch, blocking GRP blunts the rest 2

In medicine

  • None. A common variant of the NMB gene itself is linked with eating behaviour and with weight gain in genetic studies 3
  • No clinical assay measures the peptide, and its blood level is not used for anything

Beyond the body’s own use

  • NMBR blockers are studied for itch in animals, where they separate the histamine-driven pathway from the rest 2; none has reached a trial in people
  • The gene variant finding is the part most often over-read. It was a candidate-gene study of eating behaviour and weight change, not a trial, and nothing follows from it for anybody’s diet 3

Sources

  1. Minamino et al., Neuromedin B is a major bombesin-like peptide in rat brain, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 1984
  2. Wan et al., Distinct roles of NMB and GRP in itch transmission, Scientific Reports 2017
  3. Bouchard et al., Neuromedin beta, a candidate gene linking eating behaviours and obesity, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004

This card describes what a medicine is for and what the evidence says; it recommends nothing. Talk to your clinician about anything you read here.