Protein profiling in the habenula after chronic (-)-menthol exposure in mice

Auxiliary protein and chaperone regulation of neuronal nicotinic receptor subtype expression and function

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are a family of pentameric, ligand-gated ion channels that are located on the surface of neurons and non-neuronal cells and have multiple physiological and pathophysiological functions. In order to reach the cell surface, many nAChR subtypes require the help of chaperone and/or auxiliary/accessory proteins for their assembly, trafficking, pharmacological modulation, and normal functioning in vivo. The use of powerful genome-wide cDNA screening has led to the identification and characterisation of the molecules and mechanisms that participate in the assembly and trafficking of receptor subtypes, including chaperone and auxiliary or accessory proteins. The aim of this review is to describe the latest findings concerning nAChR chaperones and auxiliary proteins and pharmacological chaperones, and how some of them control receptor biogenesis or regulate channel activation and pharmacology. Some auxiliary proteins are subtype selective, some regulate various subtypes, and some not only modulate nAChRs but also target other receptors and signalling pathways. We also discuss how changes in auxiliary proteins may be involved in nAChR dysfunctions.

Preface: Cholinergic mechanisms: This is the Preface for the special issue "Cholinergic Mechanisms"

This special issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, entitled "Cholinergic Mechanisms," presents 15 reviews and two original papers, which have been selected to cover the broad spectrum of topics and disciplines presented at the XVIth International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms (ISCM-XVI), ranging from the molecular and the cellular to the clinical and the cognitive mechanisms of cholinergic transmission. The authors discuss recent developments in the field, for instance, the association of cholinergic transmission with a number of important neurological and neuromuscular diseases in the central and peripheral nervous systems.