| Popis: |
Biological therapeutics targeting TNF, IL-1, and IL-6 are widely used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and a growing list of other syndromes, often with remarkable success. Now advances in neuroscience have collided with this therapeutic approach, perhaps rendering possible the development of nerve stimulators to inhibit cytokines. Action potentials transmitted in the vagus nerve culminate in the release of acetylcholine that blocks cytokine production by cells expressing acetylcholine receptors. The molecular mechanism of this cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway is attributable to signal transduction by the nicotinic alpha 7 acetylcholine receptor subunit, a regulator of the intracellular signals that control cytokine transcription and translation. Favorable preclinical data support the possibility that it may be possible to add nerve stimulators to the future therapeutic armamentarium, possibly replacing some drugs to inhibit cytokines. |
