Physiol. Rev. 89: 73-120, 2009;
doi:10.1152/physrev.00015.2008
0031-9333/09 $18.00
Mammalian Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: From Structure to Function
Edson X. Albuquerque,
Edna F. R. Pereira,
Manickavasagom Alkondon and
Scott W. Rogers
Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; and Salt Lake City-Veterans Affairs Geriatrics, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) and University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah
The classical studies of nicotine by Langley at the turn of the 20th century introduced the concept of a "receptive substance," from which the idea of a "receptor" came to light. Subsequent studies aided by the Torpedo electric organ, a rich source of muscle-type nicotinic receptors (nAChRs), and the discovery of 
-bungarotoxin, a snake toxin that binds pseudo-irreversibly to the muscle nAChR, resulted in the muscle nAChR being the best characterized ligand-gated ion channel hitherto. With the advancement of functional and genetic studies in the late 1980s, the existence of nAChRs in the mammalian brain was confirmed and the realization that the numerous nAChR subtypes contribute to the psychoactive properties of nicotine and other drugs of abuse and to the neuropathology of various diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and schizophrenia, has since emerged. This review provides a comprehensive overview of these findings and the more recent revelations of the impact that the rich diversity in function and expression of this receptor family has on neuronal and nonneuronal cells throughout the body. Despite these numerous developments, our understanding of the contributions of specific neuronal nAChR subtypes to the many facets of physiology throughout the body remains in its infancy.
Copyright © 2009 by the American Physiological Society.
