title: Anti-inflammatory effects of nicotine in obesity and ulcerative colitis.
abstract: Cigarette smoke is a major risk factor for a number of diseases including lung cancer and respiratory infections. Paradoxically, it also contains nicotine, an anti-inflammatory alkaloid. There is increasing evidence that smokers have a lower incidence of some inflammatory diseases, including ulcerative colitis, and the protective effect involves the activation of a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway that requires the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) on immune cells. Obesity is characterized by chronic low-grade inflammation, which contributes to insulin resistance. Nicotine significantly improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in genetically obese and diet-induced obese mice, which is associated with suppressed adipose tissue inflammation. Inflammation that results in disruption of the epithelial barrier is a hallmark of inflammatory bowel disease, and nicotine is protective in ulcerative colitis. This article summarizes current evidence for the anti-inflammatory effects of nicotine in obesity and ulcerative colitis. Selective agonists for the α7nAChR could represent a promising pharmacological strategy for the treatment of inflammation in obesity and ulcerative colitis. Nevertheless, we should keep in mind that the anti-inflammatory effects of nicotine could be mediated via the expression of several nAChRs on a particular target cell.
authors.affiliation: Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA. slakhan@gnif.org
authors.forename: Shaheen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lakhan
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirchgessner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009538:Nicotine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009765:Obesity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; C579167:Chrna7 protein, human; C579166:Chrna7 protein, mouse; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; D009538:Nicotine; D002794:Choline