Dr. Peter J Cavnar

Neutrophils are pivotal innate immune cells, serving as the body's first line of defense against bacterial and fungal infections. They rapidly extravasate from the bloodstream to sites of inflammation followed by chemokine-induced integrin activation and firm adhesion. A deficiency in neutrophils, known as neutropenia, severely compromises immune function, leading to recurrent and potentially life-threatening infections. Emerging research suggests an interplay with neurotransmitters like dopamine (DA) potentially modulating neutrophil behavior. Studies have indicated that dopamine can influence various immune responses, including neutrophil chemotaxis and expression of adhesion molecules, suggesting an anti-inflammatory role. This experiment aims to further analyze the impact of dopamine on neutrophil adhesion. By treating neutrophils, incubated with Calcein AM, with varying concentrations of DA, we will observe changes in their adhesive properties, thereby providing insights into the neuro-immunomodulatory effects of dopamine on critical neutrophil functions.

Neutrophils are the immune system's first line of defense against infections and bacteria, and they alone make up about 70% of the leukocytes in the human body. The lack of neutrophils is called neutropenia and can be caused by certain medications. The atypical antipsychotic aripiprazole is seen in a small subset of patients to be a cause of this drug induced neutropenia. Dopamine has been found to be present in many tissues like bone marrow, suggesting that immune cells are regulated by dopamine. However, there is differing reports on whether human neutrophils have the five dopamine receptors, and it is unknown if the cell line PLB-985, a human myeloid leukemia cell line that can be differentiated into neutrophils using DMSO, will have the dopamine receptors. The results found that of five dopamine receptors, DRD3 and DRD5 were found to be present on the cell, and that Aripiprazole's effect is through a dopamine receptor independent mechanism.