Regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in Alzheimer?s disease: a possible role of chaperones.

Abstract

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) seem to play an integral role in the progress and/or prevention of Alzheimer?s diseases (AD). Functional abnormalities and problems in biogenesis and trafficking of nAChRs are two major culprits in AD; on the other hand, chaperones modulate post-translational changes in nAChRs. Moreover, they indirectly regulate nAChRs by controlling AD-related proteins such as tau and amyloid beta (A?). In this review, we go through recent studies which are showing that chaperones modulate the expression of nAChRs in a subtype-specific manner and explain how AD progress is affected by nAChRs chaperoning.