ArticleMolecular pharmacology2014
The α4 nicotinic receptor promotes CD4+ T-cell proliferation and a helper T-cell immune response.
Article in Molecular pharmacology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between smoking status and ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis based on a case-control study.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Macrophage Axis in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: Evidence, Limitations, and Therapeutic Hypotheses.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- The neuroimmune microenvironment of peripheral nerve injury: mechanisms, pathophysiology, and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Review
- Tobacco smoking and sarcoidosis revisited-Evidence, mechanisms, and clinical implications: a narrative review.Current medical research and opinion · 2025Review
- What Is the Real Impact of Smoking on Diseases Alleged to Benefit from It?European addiction research · 2025Review
- T cells at the interface of neuroimmune communication.The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology · 2024Review
- Article
- The controversial effect of smoking and nicotine in SARS-CoV-2 infection.Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2023Review
- Non-Antigenic Modulation of Antigen Receptor (TCR) Cβ-FG Loop Modulates Signalling: Implications of External Factors Influencing T-Cell Responses.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Insights Into the Differential Desensitization ofMolecular pharmacology · 2023Article
- α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor interaction with G proteins in breast cancer cell proliferation, motility, and calcium signaling.PloS one · 2023Article
- Effect of Nicotine on Immune System Function.Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin · 2023Review
- Impact of smoking habit on adult-onset Still's disease prognosis, findings from a multicentre observational study.Clinical rheumatology · 2022Observational
- Nicotinic receptor components of amyloid beta 42 proteome regulation in human neural cells.PloS one · 2022Article
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection reaches the human nervous system: How?Journal of neuroscience research · 2021Review
- The Role of Smoking and Nicotine in the Transmission and Pathogenesis of COVID-19.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2020Review
- A review of current knowledge on Pollution, Cigarette Smoking and COVID-19 diffusion and their relationship with inflammation.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2020Review
- Is nicotine exposure linked to cardiopulmonary vulnerability to COVID-19 in the general population?The FEBS journal · 2020Review
- Does COVID19 Infect the Brain? If So, Smokers Might Be at a Higher Risk.Molecular pharmacology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Smoking is a common addiction and a leading cause of disease. Chronic nicotine exposure is known to activate nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in immune cells. We demonstrate a novel role for α4 nAChRs in the effect of nicotine on T-cell proliferation and immunity. Using cell-based sorting and proteomic analysis we define an α4 nAChR expressing helper T-cell population (α4(+)CD3(+)CD4(+)) and show that this group of cells is responsive to sustained nicotine exposure. In the circulation, spleen, bone marrow, and thymus, we find that nicotine promotes an increase in CD3(+)CD4(+) cells via its activation of the α4 nAChR and regulation of G protein subunit o, G protein regulated-inducer of neurite outgrowth, and CDC42 signaling within T cells. In particular, nicotine is found to promote a helper T cell 2 adaptive immunologic response within T cells that is absent in α4(-/-) mice. We thus present a new mechanism of α4 nAChR signaling and immune regulation in T cells, possibly accounting for the effect of smoking on the immune system.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.