The alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist PHA 568487 dampens inflammation in PBMCs from patients with newly discovered coronary artery disease.

The alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) regulates inflammation in experimental models and is expressed in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in human atherosclerotic plaques. However, its role in regulating inflammation in patients with cardiovascular disease is unknown. This study aims to investigate whether α7nAChR stimulation can reduce the inflammatory response in PBMCs from patients with newly diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD). Human PBMCs, extracted from patients with verified CAD (n=38) and control participants with healthy vessels (n=38), were challenged in vitro with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in combination with the α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487. Cytokine levels of the supernatants were analyzed using a multiplex immunoassay. Patients in the CAD group were re-examined after 6 months. The immune response to LPS did not differ between PBMCs from control group and CAD patients. α7nAChR stimulation decreased TNFα in both control participants and CAD patients. The most pronounced effect of α7nAChR stimulation was observed in CAD patients at their first visit, where 15 of 17 cytokines were decreased (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-17A, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, MCP-1, MIP-1β and TNFα). In conclusion, stimulation with α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 dampens the inflammatory response in human PBMCs. This finding suggests that the anti-inflammatory properties of the α7nAChR may have a role in treating CAD.