Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Mediated Signaling Pathways in Pluripotent Stem Cells | Biomedgrid

Electronic cigarettes (E-cigarettes) are battery-operated devices that transport a nicotine- containing aerosol or vapor by heating the liquid. The liquid usually contains nicotine, propylene glycol or glycerol, Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) are membrane receptors that bind to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. They are classified into two distinct subtypes, nicotinic AChRs (nAChRs) and muscarinic AChRs (mAChRs). nAChRs belong to the Cys-loop family of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. They consist of seventeen subunits, various 3B1 (CHRNA1-10, but CHRNA8 is avian specific) and 3B2(CHRNB1-4) subunits with 3B4 (CHRND), 3B3 (CHRNG) and 3B5 (CHRNE) subunits [1, 2]. These subunits can be divided into neuronal-type (CHRNA2-10 and CHRNB2-4) and muscle-type (CHRNA1, CHRNB1, CHRND, CHRNG, CHRNE). Although they form various heteromeric pentamers by combination of any subunits and other subunits, some 3B1 subunits (CHRNA7 CHRNA8 and CHRNA9) function ashomomeric pentamers. Upon binding to ligands, pentameric receptors undergo conformational changes to open a central pore, causing the influx of extracellular ions and various cellular responses.