Therapeutic potential of α7 nicotinic receptor agonists to regulate neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases

作     者：Laura Foucault-Fruchard Daniel Antier 

作者机构：UMR INSERM U930 Université Fran?ois Rabelais CHRU de Tours H?pital Bretonneau 

出 版 物：《Neural Regeneration Research》 (中国神经再生研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2017年第12卷第9期

页      面：1418-1421页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 1002[医学-临床医学] 1001[医学-基础医学(可授医学、理学学位)] 100204[医学-神经病学] 10[医学] 

主　　题：α7 nicotinic receptors cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway Alzheimer's disease Huntington's disease Parkinson's disease neuroinflammation neurodegeneration positive allosteric modulators 

摘      要：Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer＇s, Parkinson＇s and Huntington＇s diseases, are all character- ized by a component of innate immunity called neuroinflammation. Neuronal loss and neuroinflammation are two phenomena closely linked. Hence, the neuroinflammation is a relevant target for the management of the neurodegenerative diseases given that, to date, there is no treatment to stop neuronal loss. Several studies have investigated the potential effects of activators of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. These receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system. After activation, they seem to mediate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in the brain. This anti-inflammatory pathway, first described in periphery, regulates activation of microglial cells considered as the resident macrophage population of the central nervous system. In this article, we shortly review the agonists of the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that have been evaluated in vivo and we focused on the selective positive allosteric modulators of these receptors. These compounds represent a key element to enhance receptor activity only in the presence of the endogenous agonist.