TY - JOUR AU - Qin, Zhen AU - Xiang, Kefa AU - Su, Ding-Feng AU - Sun, Yang AU - Liu, Xia PY - 2021 M3 - Perspective TI - Activation of the Cholinergic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway as a Novel Therapeutic Strategy for COVID-19 JO - Frontiers in Immunology UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.595342 VL - 11 SN - 1664-3224 N2 - The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) underlined the urgent need for alleviating cytokine storm. We propose here that activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway (CAP) is a potential therapeutic strategy. However, there is currently no approved drugs targeting the regulatory pathway. It is evident that nicotine, anisodamine and some herb medicine, activate the CAP and exert anti-inflammation action in vitro and in vivo. As the vagus nerve affects both inflammation and specific immune response, we propose that vagus nerve stimulation by invasive or non-invasive devices and acupuncture at ST36, PC6, or GV20, are also feasible approaches to activate the CAP and control COVID-19. It is worth to investigate the efficacy and safety of the strategy in patients with COVID-19. ER -