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New research shows that immune cells use brain chemicals to fight off viral infections.
Posted On: March 18, 2019
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Acetylcholine is normally produced in the brain, where it helps in transmitting the signals that control alertness, attention and learning.
New research from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM) has revealed that immune cells use a type of brain chemical, called acetylcholine, to fight off viral infections.
The work was led by Dr. Tak Mak, a PM Senior Scientist, who is renowned for his research on a type of immune cell known as a T cell.
Using an experimental model of viral infection, Dr. Mak’s team were able to examine how normal T cells behave in comparison to genetically engineered T cells that are not able to produce acetylcholine.
They found that acetylcholine enables the T cells to infiltrate tissues and kill the virus-infected cells. When acetylcholine was absent, T cells could not kill the infected cells and the infection became chronic.
“This finding could have implications for numerous diseases,” explains Dr. Mak. “For example in cancer, immune cells are often unable to reach the cancer cells. Increasing acetylcholine might help change that by enabling them to infiltrate into the tumour. In autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis where immune cells flood and attack parts of the body, reducing acetylcholine may help prevent this.”
As a next step, Dr. Mak and his team are working to identify and molecular players involved in this new acetylcholine-dependent effect.
Listen to Dr. Mak talk about his findings here: https://youtu.be/xTfdvZ8KopE
This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a Cancer Research Institute Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship and The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
Cox MA, Duncan GS, Lin GHY, Steinberg BE, Yu LX, Brenner D, Buckler LN, Elia AJ, Wakeham AC, Nieman B, Dominguez-Brauer C, Elford AR, Gill KT, Kubli SP, Haight J, Berger T, Ohashi PS, Tracey KJ, Olofsson PS, Mak TW. Choline acetyltransferase-expressing T cells are required to control chronic viral infection. Science. 2019 Feb 8;363(6427):639-644. doi: 10.1126/science.aau9072.