Adoptive transfer experiments indicate that enhanced CD8+ responses do not result from permanent alterations in CD8+ T cell function in sympathectomized mice. Rather, additional findings suggest that the sympathetic nervous system tempers the capacity of antigen-presenting cells to activate naïve CD8+ T cells. We also show that antiviral CD8+ T cell responses are enhanced by administration of a β2 (but not β1 or α) adrenergic antagonist. These findings demonstrate a critical role for the sympathetic nervous system in limiting CD8+ T cell responses and indicate that CD8+ T cell responses may be altered in patients using β-blockers, one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs.
PNAS March 31, 2009 vol. 106 no. 13