Neuronal nicotinic receptors: Insights gained from gene knockout and knockin mutant mice

Abstract

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that subserve a range of functions in the brain and peripheral nervous system. They are pentamers variously composed of a (a2-at0) and/3 subunits (β2-β4). Pharmacological and ligand-binding studies have shown that the different subunits vary in their distribution and channel properties, but precise delineation of the in vivo function of individual subunits has been hampered by lack of subunit-specific antagonists. The development of transgenic mice with targeted deletions of specific subunits (knockout mice) or mutations in critical receptor domains (knockin mice) has extended understanding of nicotinic receptors, revea..