title: Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on basophils and mast cells.
abstract: Anaphylaxis in response to drugs administered during anaesthesia is a rare but potentially catastrophic event. The anaesthetic drugs most commonly associated with anaphylaxis are neuromuscular blocking agents. As these drugs act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of the neuromuscular junction, potentiation of anaphylaxis by a nicotinic receptor on basophils and mast cells is plausible. The aim of this study was to investigate whether nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are present on a human basophil and mast cell lines as their presence may suggest a mechanism of associated anaphylaxis. Nicotinic receptors were demonstrated on a basophil and a mast cell line using an alpha-bungarotoxin-fluorescein conjugate by flow cytometry and by both conventional and confocal microscopic techniques. The identity of this receptor was confirmed by reverse transcriptase PCR and quantitative PCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK. sudheerps@Cardiff.ac.uk
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sudheer
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Donev
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rowbottom
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D001491:Basophils / Q000378:metabolism*; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D002038:Bungarotoxins / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D002038:Bungarotoxins; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic