Role of α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in normal and cancer stem cells.
The α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) is widely known as a neurotransmitter receptor in nervous systems. α7-nAChR is also present in a variety of non-neuronal tissues, where it has been implicated in the regulation of essential cellular functions including proliferation, survival, differentiation and communication. We have recently found in breast cancer that α7-nAChR is involved in the proliferation of cancer stem cells, which constitute a minor subpopulation responsible for tumor development and metastasis. Since growing evidence suggests that α7-nAChR is present not only in mature tissues and organs but also in undifferentiated stem cells and progenitor cells, α7-nAChR emerges as a key mediator in the regulation of self-renewal and differentiation. We provide here an overview of the recent works on the expression and function of α7-nAChR in normal and cancer stem cells, and their relevance to disease-related cellular dysfunction. Understanding the role of α7-nAChR in stem cells would be of great interest for its application potential in drug discovery and in regenerative medicine.
Division of Pharmacology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Setagaya 158-8501, Japan.
Waka
W
Lin
Naoya
N
Hirata
Yuko
Y
Sekino
Yasunari
Y
Kanda
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D015195:Drug Design; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism*; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
C579167:Chrna7 protein, human; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor