Intracellular calcium responses to cholinergic stimulation of lymphocytes from healthy donors and patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Nast, Alexander; Malysheva, Olga; Krause, Andreas; Wahle, Matthias; Baerwald, Christoph G. O.
- Source
- Rheumatology International. Mar2009, Vol. 29 Issue 5, p497-502. 6p. 2 Charts, 1 Graph.
- Subject
- *RHEUMATOID arthritis
*LYMPHOCYTES
*ACETYLCHOLINE
*CALCIUM in the body
*CHOLINERGIC mechanisms
- Language
- ISSN
- 0172-8172
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 Ca2+ oscillations in healthy controls. PBMC from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients exhibited increased basal Ca2+ 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 Ca2+ concentrations with various types of oscillations. The significantly decreased modulation of intracellular Ca2+ levels by ACh in PBMC of RA patients points further to a disturbed neuroimmune interaction in this chronic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]