Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) is a multifunctional enzyme with an important role in processing antigenic peptides presented to class I major histocompatibility complex in the endoplasmic reticulum. In this study, we found that endoplasmic reticulum-retained ERAP1 was secreted from macrophages in response to activation by treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon (IFN)-␥ and enhanced their phagocytic activity. Enhancement of the phagocytic activity of murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells induced by LPS/ IFN-␥ was inhibited by a potent aminopeptidase inhibitor, amastatin. The addition of recombinant wild-type but not inactive mutant ERAP1 to culture medium enhanced phagocytosis. These results suggest that enhancement of phagocytic activity is at least in part mediated by secreted ERAP1 through the generation of active peptides processed by the enzyme. Our data reveal ERAP1-mediated activation of macrophages for the first time and will provide new insights into the role of this enzyme in innate immunity.It is well known that endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) is a multifunctional enzyme belonging to the M1 family of aminopeptidases with roles in the regulation of blood pressure, angiogenesis, ectodomain shedding of several cytokine receptors, and processing of antigenic peptides presented to MHC class I molecules (1-4). Its cDNA was initially cloned as adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase (5). Based on its multifunctional properties, adipocyte-derived leucine aminopeptidase is also designated ERAP1, ERAAP (endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase associated with antigen presentation), PILSAP (puromycin-insensitive leucine-specific aminopeptidase), and ARTS-1 (aminopeptidase regulator of TNFR1 shedding) (6 -9) (in this paper, ERAP1 is used hereafter). Although it is evident that ERAP1 plays important roles in several pathophysiological processes, its subcellular localization is still under debate. Although several reports have presented evidence showing its localization in the ER (6, 7) or cytoplasm (10) as a soluble protein, others have shown it on the cell surface as a type II membrane-spanning protein (9).ERAP1 is a monomeric zinc-metallopeptidase that shows a preference for leucine when measured by synthetic substrates (5). On the other hand, it shows relatively broad substrate specificity toward natural peptide hormones, such as angiotensin II, kallidin, and neurokinin A, which may reflect its role in the processing of various precursors of antigenic peptides presented to MHC class I molecules (11). On the basis of a preference for substrates of a specific length and C-terminal hydrophobic amino acid, the "molecular ruler" mechanism was proposed for the processing of antigenic peptides by the enzyme (12).Because ERAP1 inactivates angiotensin II and converts kallidin to bradykinin, it was initially speculated that it might regulate blood pressure (11). Subsequently, by screening for polymorphisms in the human ERAP1 gene, Yamamoto et al. (13) identified an association of K5...