Fujii Takeshi, Yamada Shin, Watanabe Yoshihiro, Misawa Hidemi, Tajima Sonoko, Fujimoto Kazuko, Kasahara Tadashi, Kawashima Koichiro
Department of Pharmacology, Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy, 1-5-30 Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, Japan.
Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu-city, Tokyo 183, Japan.
J Neuroimmunol. 1998 Feb;82(1):101-107. doi: 10.1016/S0165-5728(97)00195-1.
The induction of mRNA for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), which catalyzes acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis was investigated in human mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA), a T-cell activator, using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Stimulation of MNL by PHA induced the expression of ChAT mRNA, and potentiated ACh synthesis. ChAT mRNA induction required more time than the induction of interleukin-2 mRNA. Expression of the gene encoding the vesicular ACh transporter, which mediates ACh transport in cholinergic neurons, was not observed in PHA-stimulated MNL, suggesting that the mechanisms controlling ACh release from T-lymphocytes differ from those in cholinergic neurons. These findings demonstrate that activation of T-lymphocytes up-regulates ACh synthesis in the blood, and suggest that ACh plays an important role as a neuroimmunomodulator besides its role as a neurotransmitter.
利用逆转录-聚合酶链反应，研究了在T细胞激活剂植物血凝素（PHA）刺激下的人单核白细胞（MNL）中，催化乙酰胆碱（ACh）合成的胆碱乙酰转移酶（ChAT）的mRNA诱导情况。PHA刺激MNL可诱导ChAT mRNA的表达，并增强ACh的合成。ChAT mRNA的诱导比白细胞介素-2 mRNA的诱导需要更多时间。在PHA刺激的MNL中未观察到编码囊泡ACh转运体的基因的表达，该转运体介导胆碱能神经元中的ACh转运，这表明控制ACh从T淋巴细胞释放的机制与胆碱能神经元中的机制不同。这些发现表明，T淋巴细胞的激活上调了血液中ACh的合成，并表明ACh除了作为神经递质发挥作用外，还作为神经免疫调节剂发挥重要作用。
