Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Respiratory Tract

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are widely distributed in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues, where they play diverse physiological roles. In this review, we highlight the recent findings regarding the role of nAChR in the respiratory tract with a special focus on the involvement of nAChR in the regulation of multiple processes in health and disease. We discuss the role of nAChR in mucociliary clearance, inflammation, and infection and in airway diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer. The subtype diversity of nAChR enables differential regulation, making them a suitable pharmaceutical target in many diseases. The stimulation of the alpha 3 beta 4 nAChR could be beneficial in diseases accompanied by impaired mucociliary clearance, and the anti-inflammatory effect due to an alpha 7 nAChR stimulation could alleviate symptoms in diseases with chronic inflammation such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, while the inhibition of the alpha 5 nAChR could potentially be applied in non-small cell lung cancer treatment. However, while clinical studies targeting nAChR in the airways are still lacking, we suggest that more detailed research into this topic and possible pharmaceutical applications could represent a valuable tool to alleviate the symptoms of diverse airway diseases.

Automated summary

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors play diverse physiological roles in the respiratory tract, regulating mucociliary clearance, inflammation, infection, and airway diseases. The subtype diversity of nAChR enables potential pharmaceutical targeting for therapeutic purposes in various diseases.