Muscarinic receptors as targets for anti-inflammatory therapy

SALES MARIA ELENA

Curr Op Invest Drugs

Thomson Reuters

Año: 2010

THOMSON REUTERS PROOF ONLY 2 Abstract Acetylcholine (ACh) is the main neurotransmitter in the neuronal cholinergic system. ACh is synthesized by pre-ganglionic fibers of the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous system and by post-ganglionic parasympathetic fibers. There is increasing experimental evidence that ACh is widely expressed in pro- and eukaryotic non-neuronal cells. The neuronal or the non neuronal cholinergic systems are composed by ACh, choline acetyltransferase and cholinesterase, enzymes that synthesizes and catabolizes ACh, and the target of ACh action nicotinic and muscarinic receptors (mAChR). In this review, the role of different mAChR antagonists during local and systemic inflammatory diseases is analyzed to value their actual or future application as therapeutic tools in these processes.