Open AccessNicotinic acetylcholine receptors and cancer
Author(s) -
Ning Dang,
Xianguang Meng,
Haiyan Song
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
biomedical reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.607
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2049-9442
pISSN - 2049-9434
DOI - 10.3892/br.2016.625
Subject(s) - nicotinic agonist , acetylcholine receptor , nicotine , cancer , nicotinic acetylcholine receptor , receptor , acetylcholine , biology , lung cancer , neuroscience , pharmacology , medicine , genetics
Nicotine, the primary addictive constituent of cigarettes, is believed to contribute to cancer promotion and progression through the activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are membrane ligand-gated cation channels. nAChRs activation can be triggered by the neurotransmitter Ach, or certain other biological compounds, such as nicotine. In recent years, genome-wide association studies have indicated that allelic variation in the α5-α3-β4 nAChR cluster on chromosome 15q24-15q25.1 is associated with lung cancer risk. The role of nAChRs in other types of cancer has also been reported. The present review highlights the role of nAChRs in types of human cancer.