Internal medicine

Neuroscience

Receptor

Cholinergic

Biology

Nicotinic agonist

Acetylcholine

Nicotine

Ion channel

Acetylcholine receptor

Cell biology

Medicine

Pharmacology

Current Neuropharmacology

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) belong to a super-family of Cysloop ligand-gated ion channels that respond to endogenous acetylcholine (ACh) or other cholinergic ligands. These receptors are also the targets of drugs such as nicotine (the main addictive agent delivered by cigarette smoke) and are involved in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. Numerous studies have shown that the expression and/or function of nAChRs is compromised in many neurological and psychiatric diseases. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that neuronal nAChRs are found in a large number of nonneuronal cell types including endothelial cells, glia, immune cells, lung epithelia and cancer cells where they regulate cell differentiation, proliferation and inflammatory responses. The aim of this review is to describe the most recent findings concerning the structure and function of native nAChRs inside and outside the nervous system. Keywords: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes, subunit composition, ligand binding site, stochiometry, nonneuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, knockout and knockout in mice.

Neuronal and Extraneuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors