Neuroanatomy of the spleen: Mapping the relationship between sympathetic neurons and lymphocytes.

The nervous system plays a profound regulatory role in maintaining appropriate immune responses by signaling to immune cells. These immune cells, including B- and T-cells, can further act as intermediary messengers, with subsets of B- and T-cells expressing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the enzyme required for acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis. Neural control of ACh release from ChAT+ T-cells can have powerful immune implications, regulating lymphocyte trafficking, inflammation, and prevent death due to experimental septic shock.