Mulcahy Matthew J, Lester Henry A
Department of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
J Neurochem. 2017 Aug;142 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):151-161. doi: 10.1111/jnc.14010.
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are pentameric cation channels expressed in the mammalian CNS, in the peripheral nervous system, and in skeletal muscle. Neuronal-type nAChRs are also found in several non-neuronal cell types, including leukocytes. Granulocytes are a subtype of leukocytes that include basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils. Granulocytes, also known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes, are characterized by their ability to produce, store, and release compounds from intracellular granules. Granulocytes are the most abundant type of leukocyte circulating in the peripheral blood. Granulocyte abundance, nAChR expression, and nAChR upregulation following chronic nicotine administration makes granulocytes interesting models for identifying protein markers of nicotine exposure. Nicotinic receptor subunits and several non-nAChR proteins have been identified as protein markers of granulocyte nicotine exposure. We review methods to isolate granulocytes from human tissue, summarize present data about the expression of nAChRs in the three granulocyte cell types (basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils), describe current knowledge of the effects of nicotine exposure on human granulocyte protein expression, and highlight areas of interest for future investigation. This is an article for the special issue XVth International Symposium on Cholinergic Mechanisms.
烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体（nAChRs）是一种五聚体阳离子通道，表达于哺乳动物的中枢神经系统、外周神经系统和骨骼肌中。在包括白细胞在内的几种非神经元细胞类型中也发现了神经元型nAChRs。粒细胞是白细胞的一种亚型，包括嗜碱性粒细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞和中性粒细胞。粒细胞，也被称为多形核白细胞，其特征在于能够从细胞内颗粒中产生、储存和释放化合物。粒细胞是外周血中循环的最丰富的白细胞类型。慢性尼古丁给药后粒细胞的丰度、nAChR表达和nAChR上调，使得粒细胞成为识别尼古丁暴露蛋白质标志物的有趣模型。烟碱受体亚基和几种非nAChR蛋白已被确定为粒细胞尼古丁暴露的蛋白质标志物。我们综述了从人体组织中分离粒细胞的方法，总结了目前关于三种粒细胞类型（嗜碱性粒细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞和中性粒细胞）中nAChRs表达的数据，描述了目前关于尼古丁暴露对人粒细胞蛋白质表达影响的知识，并强调了未来研究的感兴趣领域。这是一篇发表于第十五届国际胆碱能机制研讨会特刊的文章。
