Intracellular calcium responses to cholinergic stimulation of lymphocytes from healthy donors and patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

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 Ca(2+) oscillations in healthy controls. PBMC from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients exhibited increased basal Ca(2+) 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 Ca(2+) concentrations with various types of oscillations. The significantly decreased modulation of intracellular Ca(2+) levels by ACh in PBMC of RA patients points further to a disturbed neuroimmune interaction in this chronic disease.