An innate cholinergic system and its regulation in mature dendritic cell

AIM: To investigate whether there was nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit α 7(nAChR α 7), choline acetyltransferase(ChAT), acetylcholinesterase(AChE) expression and its regulation in mature dendritic cells(DCs). METHODS: Bone marrow(BM)-derived DCs from healthy BALB/c mice were incubated with rmGM-CSF and rmIL-4, and stimulated to mature with LPS. Meanwhile, light microscope and flow cytometry were used to identify DCs, as well as immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and RT-PCR methods were used to dectect expression of nAChR α 7,ChAT and AChE. Flow cytometry was also used to analyze nAChR α 7 expression with mecamylamine (MEC) in 12 h. RESULTS: Both protein and mRNA expression of cholinergic system nAChR α 7,ChAT and AChE were found in mature DCs. Furthermore, nAChR α 7 distributed principally in cell membrane, while ChAT and AChE in cytoplasm. Protein expression of AChE was stronger as compared with ChAT (P0.05), and there was a trend toward increasing as compared with nAChR α 7. And then, the expression of nAChR α 7 was down regulated by MEC as compared with the group without MEC stimulation(P0.05). CONCLUSION: An innate cholinergic system was in mature DCs, which was affected by extrinsic factor (i. e., MEC). And it may be involved in anti-inflammation immune adjustion of cholinergic closed-circuit.