Expression of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in human lung cells.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We and others have shown that one of the mechanisms of growth regulation of small cell lung cancer cell lines and cultured pulmonary neuroendocrine cells is by the binding of agonists to the alpha7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. In addition, we have shown that the nicotine-derived carcinogenic nitrosamine, 4(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), is a high affinity agonist for the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. In the present study, our goal was to determine the extent of alpha7 mRNA and protein expression in the human lung.

Methods

Experiments were done using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), a nuclease protection assay and western blotting using membrane proteins.

Results

We detected mRNA for the n

SUBMITTER: Plummer HK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1079948 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature