title: Intracellular calcium responses to cholinergic stimulation of lymphocytes from healthy donors and patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: This study was performed to identify the role of cholinergic stimulation on changes of intracellular calcium concentrations as intracellular messenger of neuroimmune interaction. Incubation of PBMC with acetylcholine (ACh) leads to Ca(2+) oscillations in healthy controls. PBMC from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients exhibited increased basal Ca(2+) concentrations with a significantly reduced capacity to respond upon ACh stimulation compared to healthy controls. It can be assumed that cholinergic signals in PBMC are mediated via the nicotinergic type of ACh receptors, causing changes in intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations with various types of oscillations. The significantly decreased modulation of intracellular Ca(2+) levels by ACh in PBMC of RA patients points further to a disturbed neuroimmune interaction in this chronic disease.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité-University Hospital, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nast
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Malysheva
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wahle
authors.forename: Christoph G O
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Baerwald
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018678:Cholinergic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018678:Cholinergic Agents; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D000109:Acetylcholine; D002118:Calcium