title: Activation of α7nAChR by nicotine reduced the Th17 response in CD4(+)T lymphocytes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  nAChRs play an important role in the regulation and modulation of immune cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and cell-cell interactions. The present study was to characterize the expression of α7nAChR on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC) and CD4(+)T lymphocytes, and to explore the change of Th17 expression after activation of α7nAChR on human CD4(+)T lymphocytes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Ficoll gradient was used to separate hPBMC from whole blood, and then CD4(+)T lymphocytes were isolated by magnetic bead separation. The expression of α7nAChR on PBMC and CD4(+)T lymphocytes was analyzed using flow cytometry before and after stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The effect of α7nAChR stimulation by nicotine or inhibition by α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX), as well as Th17 expression on the phenotype of CD4(+)T cells was evaluated using flow cytometric analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of CD4(+)T cells in reduced PBMC, while the expression of α7nAChR increased when cells were stimulated by nicotine. This effect vanished when co-treated with nicotine and α-BTX. α7nAChR was found to expressed in about 90% of CD4(+)T cells. However, α7nAChR expression reduced to 80% on CD4(+)T cells after stimulation with PHA for 24 h. Stimulation of α7nAChR with nicotine increased the expression of Th17 cells, and this upregulation reduced when AChRα7 was inhibited by α-BTX.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  α7nAChR was ubiquitously expressed by CD4(+)T lymphocytes, which was correlated with the cell activation status. Meanwhile, activation of nAChRα7 by nicotine in CD4 cells reduced the Th17 response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Shandong University , Jinan , China .
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Peijie
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000276:immunology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D055815:Young Adult; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D020381:Interleukin-17; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Interleukin-17; Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7; lymphocytes