Abstract
Receptors for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine have been found on several types1–9 of cell outside the neuromuscular system and exocrine secretory tissue. Thus cholinergic ligands have been shown to increase phytohaemagglutinin-induced transformation, RNA and protein synthesis and antibody-independent cytotoxicity in lymphocytes, and the IgE-mediated release of histamine, slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) and eosinophil chemotactic factor of anaphylaxis (ECF-A) in mast cells. These effects were shown to be mediated by muscarinic receptors. However, recent evidence has suggested that nicotinic receptors are present on lymphoid cells8,10,11. We report here that synthesis of C2, the second component of complement, by human monocytes is enhanced by the cholinergic ligands acetylcholine and carbamylcholine, and that this effect is mediated exclusively by a nicotinic receptor which is similar in pharmacological specificity, and antigenically related, to the nicotinic receptors of human skeletal muscle and the electroplaques of the electric ray, Torpedo marmorata.
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Whaley, K., Lappin, D. & Barkas, T. C2 synthesis by human monocytes is modulated by a nicotinic cholinergic receptor. Nature 293, 580–583 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293580a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/293580a0
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