Now, people's understanding of nicotine, at least from the perspective of biomedicine, has greatly improved. In the past few years, researchers have discovered that nicotine can reduce the symptoms of some diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and colorectal ulcers. However, the principle of nicotine's fight against these diseases is still unknown. Now, Luis Ulloa of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasai, New York, USA, has studied sepsis and has obtained evidence that can clarify the biochemical pathways of nicotine anti-inflammatory effects, thereby enabling the development of more effective anti-inflammatory Medicine becomes possible.

Sepsis is the most deadly form of inflammation. In developing countries in the third world, it is the third leading cause of death in the population, and it is also the culprit responsible for 10% of the total mortality in the United States. The cause of sepsis is that bacteria invade the blood circulation, and bacterial infection can cause a certain amount of body damage, but what really puts patients at risk is their own strong immune response: macrophages in the human body (macrophage) in order to eliminate bacteria, Spit out a huge number of pro-inflammatory cytokines to continuously strengthen the immune response until it attacks its own tissues, causing damage, and ultimately causing the patient to die of cardiovascular dysfunction and multiple organ failure.

Ulloa and his colleagues discovered some phenomena that caught their attention: nicotine can suppress the excessive inflammatory response in mice, and can even change the process of sepsis. Compared with the existing anti-inflammatory therapy, it is more powerful. "Nicotine interferes with the body's own effective anti-inflammatory mechanism," Ulloa explained at the Novartis Foundation meeting in London in February 2006. "This is the most exciting discovery in our research. Using nicotine, we artificially "copy" the physiological regulation process of the human immune system that has been screened out by natural evolution."

The structure of nicotine is very similar to acetylcholine, and it can mimic acetylcholine in immune regulation. Acetylcholine is the "Cinderella" in neurotransmitter research and has never received attention for many years. It was found that it has a huge role in connecting the nervous system and immune system, and acetylcholine has become a hot spot that has attracted much attention. The nervous system uses acetylcholine to control the fires of inflammation in the body. The receptors for acetylcholine not only exist on nerve endings, but also on the surface of immune cells. Nicotine can bind to and activate these receptors, realizing a cross-border dialogue between the brain and the immune system.