Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on basophils and mast cells

Anaphylaxis in response to drugs administered during anaesthesia is a rare but potentially catastrophic event. The anaesthetic drugs most commonly associated with anaphylaxis are neuromuscular blocking agents. As these drugs act on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of the neuromuscular junction, potentiation of anaphylaxis by a nicotinic receptor on basophils and mast cells is plausible. The aim of this study was to investigate whether nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are present on a human basophil and mast cell lines as their presence may suggest a mechanism of associated anaphylaxis. Nicotinic receptors were demonstrated on a basophil and a mast cell line using an alpha-bungarotoxin-fluorescein conjugate by flow cytometry and by both conventional and confocal microscopic techniques. The identity of this receptor was confirmed by reverse transcriptase PCR and quantitative PCR.