Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits with cervical neoplasia

摘要

AimsCholinergic signaling, particularly in response to non-physiological ligands like nicotine, stimulates carcinogenesis of a variety of tissue types including epithelia of the cervix uteri. Cholinergic signaling is mediated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), which are pentamers formed by subsets of 16 nAChR subunits. Recent literature suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of some of these subunits, notably alpha5, are risk factors for developing lung cancer in smokers as well as in non-smokers.