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Acetylcholine (ACh) and its receptors of muscarinic and nicotinic types are involved in the modulation of immune and inflammatory responses. In present work we have characterized the nicotinic receptors expression in PBMC of RR-MS patients and healthy donors (HD) and their ability to modulate pro-inflammatory cytokines. Here we report that the IL-1β e IL-17 levels are significantly increased in serum of RR-MS patients in respect to HD and that the PBMC stimulation with PHA caused a significant increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels both in RR-MS and HD subjects, with higher increase of protein release in RR-MS patients than in HD. The PBMC treatment with PHA plus nicotine produced a significant decrease of IL-1β e IL-17 both as transcript and as protein, confirming that the PBMC of the patients respond to the cholinergic stimulation more than PBMC of HD. By real time PCR and western blot analysis we have also demonstrated that in particular α7 receptor subtype appeared expressed at comparable levels both in RR-MS patients and HD. The PHA stimulation results to inhibit the α7 subunit expression while the nicotine causes a significant increase in α7 transcripts but only in MS patients. The data obtained highlight the role of α7 receptor subtype in the modulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines also in MS. Moreover the ability of nicotine to up-regulate the expression of α7 receptor subtype in RR-MS patients, indicates that nicotinic receptor stimulation may contribute to down-modulate the inflammation occurred in MS by a positive feedback control of its expression., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Statins are lipid-lowering drugs that exhibit anti-Inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties, leading to a reduction of serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the general population., Design: To assess the anti-inflammatory effects of statins in HIV-infected patients, because very limited data are available today., Methods: Longitudinal, observational study of HIV-infected adult patients naive to antiretroviral therapy who started tenofovir/emtricitabine/efavirenz and were followed-up for 48 weeks. Patients with baseline normal cholesterol level and taking only antiretroviral drugs (group A) were compared to those with baseline hypercholesterolemia who received rosuvastatin (10 mg daily) in association with antiretroviral treatment (group B). The primary observation was change in serum markers of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hsCRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6], interleukin-8 [IL-8]) and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF- α]) in both groups, whereas secondary observations include variations in CD4 lymphocyte count, HIV viral load, and occurrence of adverse events., Results: Eighty-six patients were enrolled into the study: 46 in group A and 40 in group B. After 48 weeks, patients treated with antiretroviral therapy plus rosuvastatin had significantly greater decreases in serum concentrations of all Inflammatory markers than those taking antiretroviral therapy only. Changes in mean levels of hsCRP and TNF-α were -35.1% and -22.4% in group B and -8.2% and 5.4% in group A, respectively (P < .001, for both parameters). No significant differences in immunovirological parameters and safety profile were reported across the compared groups., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that tenofovir/emtricitabine/efavirenz plus rosuvastatin has a greater antiInflammatory effect than antiretroviral drugs only.

Abstract: Acetylcholine (ACh) is involved in the modulation of the inflammatory response. ACh levels are regulated by its synthesizing enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and by its hydrolyzing enzymes, mainly acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). A more comprehensive understanding of the cholinergic system in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) disease progression could pave the path for the development of therapies to ameliorate multiple sclerosis (MS). In this work, we analyzed possible alterations of the CNS cholinergic system in the neuroinflammation process by using a MOG‐induced EAE mice model. MOG‐ and vehicle‐treated animals were studied at acute and remitting phases. We examined neuropathology and analyzed mRNA expression of ChAT, AChE and the α7 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR), as well as AChE and BuChE enzyme activities, in brain and spinal cord sections during disease progression. The mRNA expression and enzyme activities of these cholinergic markers were up‐ or down‐regulated in many cholinergic areas and other brain areas of EAE mice in the acute and remitting phases of the disease. BuChE was present in a higher proportion of astroglia and microglia/macrophage cells in the EAE remitting group. The observed changes in cholinergic markers expression and cellular localization in the CNS during EAE disease progression suggests their potential involvement in the development of the neuroinflammatory process and may lay the ground to consider cholinergic system components as putative anti‐inflammatory therapeutic targets for MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]