Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21575610›Full record

ReviewBiochemical pharmacology2011

Positive allosteric modulators as an approach to nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-targeted therapeutics: advantages and limitations.

Dustin K Williams, Jingyi Wang, Roger L Papke

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Biochemical pharmacology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
133citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

133 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 242 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Alkaloids from In Vitro CulturedPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Hidden complexity of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor desensitization revealed by MD simulations and Markov state modeling.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Xanomeline restores endogenous nicotinic acetylcholine receptor signaling in mouse prefrontal cortex.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023
    Article
  15. Review
  16. The 2022 Ferno Award Address: CrEATE, an Efficient Crossover Evaluation of Addiction Treatment Efficacy.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Dustin K WilliamsDepartment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL Neurocypres, United States.
Jingyi Wang
Roger L Papke
University of Florida · US

Funding

Targeting of Alpha7 nAChR for therapeutic effectsR01GM057481 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI PAPKE, ROGER L · 2000 to 2023
$7.6M
TRAINING IN THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF AGINGT32AG000196 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI SCARPACE, PHILIP J · 1989 to 2011
$2.0M
NIA NIH HHS T32 AG000196NIA NIH HHS T32-AG000196NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM057481
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), recognized targets for drug development in cognitive and neuro-degenerative disorders, are allosteric proteins with dynamic interconversions between multiple functional states. Activation of the nAChR ion channel is primarily controlled by the binding of ligands (agonists, partial agonists, competitive antagonists) at conventional agonist binding sites, but is also regulated in either negative or positive ways by the binding of ligands to other modulatory sites. In this review, we discuss models for the activation and desensitization of nAChR, and the discovery of multiple types of ligands that influence those processes in both heteromeric nAChR, such as the high-affinity nicotine receptors of the brain, and homomeric α7-type receptors. In recent years, α7 nAChRs have been identified as a potential target for therapeutic indications leading to the development of α7-selective agonists and partial agonists. However, unique properties of α7 nAChR, including low probability of channel opening and rapid desensitization, may limit the therapeutic usefulness of ligands binding exclusively to conventional agonist binding sites. New enthusiasm for the therapeutic targeting of α7 has come from the identification of α7-selective positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) that work effectively on the intrinsic factors that limit α7 ion channel activation. While these new drugs appear promising for therapeutic development, we also consider potential caveats and possible limitations for their use, including PAM-insensitive forms of desensitization and cytotoxicity issues.

Indexed as

Cholinergic AgentsAllosteric Regulationalpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine ReceptorAnimalsCognition DisordersDrug DiscoveryHumansModels, BiologicalMolecular StructureNeurodegenerative DiseasesReceptors, Nicotinicalpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine ReceptorCholinergic AgentsChrna7 protein, humanReceptors, Nicotinic

Identifiers

PMID21575610
PMCPMC3162128
OpenAlexW2149065928

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.