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Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in neuropathic and inflammatory pain
Author(s) -
Hone Arik J.,
McIntosh J. Michael
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.12884
Subject(s) - neuropathic pain , nicotinic agonist , acetylcholine receptor , acetylcholine , receptor , neuroscience , chemistry , pharmacology , medicine , psychology , biochemistry
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are actively being investigated as therapeutic targets for the treatment of pain and inflammation, but despite more than 30 years of research, there are currently no FDA‐approved analgesics that are specific for these receptors. Much of the initial research effort focused on the α4β2 nAChR subtype, but more recently, additional subtypes have been identified as promising new leads and include α6β4, α7, and α9‐containing nAChRs. This Review will focus on the distribution of these nAChRs in the cell types involved in neuropathic pain and inflammation and the activity of currently available nicotinic ligands.