Alteration of the cytotoxic action of sensitized lymphocytes by cholinergic agents and activators of adenylate cyclase.

The cytotoxic action of lymphocytes upon cells bearing alloantigens to which they are sensitized is inhibited by agents that elevate intracellular amounts of 3':5'-cyclic AMP: prostaglandin E(1), cholera toxin, and theophylline. Cholinergic agents, added in the range of 1 to 100 pM, enhance cytotoxicity, an effect that is blocked by atropine. Because cholinergic agents elevate cyclic GMP in other in vitro systems, these findings suggest that the cytotoxic process effected by sensitized lymphocytes is a secretory phenomenon modulated by cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.