TNF and systemic lupus erythematosus: 2000b; Rosas‐Ballina et al. 2011). In the current study, we activated the cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway at the level of the splenic α7‐nAChR with the use of subcutaneous nicotine and measured TNF‐α in the spleen as proof of concept. Splenic TNF‐α expression (normalized to total protein) was increased in SLE mice compared to controls (1.2e7 ± 9.7e5 vs. 4.2e6 ± 9.5e5; P < 0.001; Fig. 2). SLE mice treated with nicotine had significantly lower TNF‐α (9.1e6 ± 7.1e5; P = 0.022) compared to saline‐treated SLE mice.