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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Aug 13.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Immunol. 2009 Jun;9(6):418–428. doi: 10.1038/nri2566

Figure 2. Mechanism of function of the efferent arc.

Figure 2

In the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, acetylcholine binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit α7 (α7nAChR) leads to the inhibition of the phosphorylation of inhibitor of NF-κB (I κB), the downregulation of the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), inhibition of the release of intracellular Ca2+ stores and the formation of a heterodimeric protein complex with Janus kinase 1 (JAK2), which activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 (STAT3). Together, these signalling cascades lead to inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine release. JNK, JUN N-terminal kinase; NF-κB, nuclear factor κB; NLR, nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat-containing family; PLCγ, phospholipase Cγ; TLR, Toll-like receptor.