title: The multiple roles of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in modulating glutamatergic systems in the normal and diseased nervous system.
abstract: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play an important role in a variety of modulatory and regulatory processes including neurotransmitter release and synaptic transmission in various brain regions of the central nervous system (CNS). Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and the glutamatergic system participates in the pathophysiology of several neuropsychiatric disorders. Underpinning the importance of nAChRs, many studies demonstrated that nAChRs containing the α7 subunit facilitate glutamate release. Here, we review the currently available body of experimental evidence pertaining to α7 subunit containing nAChRs in their contribution to the modulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission, and we highlight the role of α7 in synaptic plasticity, the morphological and functional maturation of the glutamatergic system and therefore its important contribution in the modulation of neural circuits of the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Neurobiologie intégrative des systèmes cholinergiques, CNRS UMR 3571, Paris, France. Electronic address: fani.koukouli@pasteur.fr.
authors.forename: Fani
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Koukouli
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Neurobiologie intégrative des systèmes cholinergiques, CNRS UMR 3571, Paris, France. Electronic address: uwe.maskos@pasteur.fr.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Maskos
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000378:metabolism; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000378:metabolism; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002491:Central Nervous System Agents; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
keywords: Glutamate; Neurotransmission; Nicotine; Synaptic plasticity; α7 nicotinic receptor