Abstract
We previously suggested that a population of T-suppressor cells carries acetylcholine receptors which may be involved in the regulation of the immune response. To identify cholinergic receptors on human T lymphocytes, we investigated the effects of carbachol, a cholinergic agonist, on E-rosette formation. Preincubation of normal human peripheral blood cells with carbachol resulted in a 30–40% reduction in numbers of E rosette-forming cells. Carbachol-induced inhibition of E-rosette formation was dose-dependent, temperature dependent, and reversible. The drug effects appeared to be mediated through a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor sinced-tubocurarine (but not atropine) abrogated its activity. The expression of nicotinic receptors on a subset of human T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of certain diseases such as myasthenia gravis.
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Mizuno, Y., Dosch, HM. & Gelfand, E.W. Carbamylcholine modulation of E-rosette formation: Identification of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on a subpopulation of human T lymphocytes. J Clin Immunol 2, 303–308 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915071
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915071