Nicotine activates and up-regulates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in bronchial epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT: Prenatal nicotine exposure impairs normal lung development and leads to diminished pulmonary function after birth. Previous work from our laboratory has demonstrated that nicotine alters lung development by affecting a nonneuronal cholinergic autocrine loop that is expressed in lung. Bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) express choline acetyltransferase, the choline high-affinity transporter and nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor (nAChR) subunits. We now demonstrate through a combination of morphological and electrophysiological techniques that nicotine affects this autocrine loop by up-regulating and activating cholinergic signaling. RT-PCR showed the expression of alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 7, alpha 9, alpha 10, beta2, and beta 4 nAChR mRNAs in rhesus monkey lung and cultured BECs. The exp

SUBMITTER: Fu XW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2701964 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature