Carbamycholine modulation of E-rosette formation: identification of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on a subpopulation of human T lymphocytes.

We previously suggested that a population of T-suppressor cells carries acetylcholine receptors which may be involved in the regulation of the immune response. To identify cholinergic receptors on human T lymphocytes, we investigated the effects of carbachol, a cholinergic agonist, on E-rosette formation. Preincubation of normal human peripheral blood cells with carbachol resulted in a 30-40% reduction in numbers of E rosette-forming cells. Carbachol-induced inhibition of E-rosette formation was dose-dependent, temperature dependent, and reversible. The drug effects appeared to be mediated through a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor since d-tubocurarine (but not atropine) abrogated its activity. The expression of nicotinic receptors on a subset of human T cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of certain diseases such as myasthenia gravis.