Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29468816›Full record

ReviewNeurogastroenterology and motility2018

The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway revisited.

K Murray, C Reardon

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Neurogastroenterology and motility, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and exercise-induced autonomic regulation: a systematic review.Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Mechanism, Dose, and Administration of Dexmedetomidine in Managing Visceral Pain Associated With Surgery: A Narrative Review.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Cholinergic immunomodulation in inflammatory bowel diseases.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2022
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

K MurrayDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
C ReardonDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2204-8091
University of California, Davis · US

Funding

Mapping of the neuro-immune interfaceOT2OD023871 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI RAYBOULD, HELEN E, REARDON, COLIN · 2017 to 2018
$947k
NIH HHS OT2 OD023871
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease negatively affects the quality of life of millions of patients around the world. Although the precise etiology of the disease remains elusive, aberrant immune system activation is an underlying cause. As such, therapies that selectively inhibit immune cell activation without broad immunosuppression are desired. Inhibition of immune cell activation preventing pro-inflammatory cytokine production through neural stimulation has emerged as one such treatment. These therapeutics are based on the discovery of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, a reflex arc that induces efferent vagal nerve signaling to reduce immune cell activation and consequently mortality during septic shock. Despite the success of preclinical and clinical trials, the neural circuitry and mechanisms of action of these immune-regulatory circuits are controversial. At the heart of this controversy is the protective effect of vagal nerve stimulation despite an apparent lack of neuroanatomical connections between the vagus and target organs. Additional studies have further emphasized the importance of sympathetic innervation of these organs, and that alternative neural circuits could be involved in neural regulation of the immune system. Such controversies also extend to the regulation of intestinal inflammation, with the importance of efferent vagus nerve signals in question. Experiments that better characterize these pathways have now been performed by Willemze et al. in this issue of Neurogastroenterology & Motility. These continued efforts will be critical to the development of better neurostimulator based therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease.

Indexed as

AnimalsHumansInflammatory Bowel DiseasesReceptors, CholinergicSignal TransductionVagus Nerve StimulationReceptors, Cholinergicautonomic nervous systemcholinergic anti-inflammatory pathwaycolitisinflammationvagal nerve stimulation

Identifiers

PMID29468816
PMCPMC5826620
OpenAlexW2791457282

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.