Targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptor to treat smoking-related periodontitis

Tobacco smoking is considered to be one of the major risk factors for periodontitis. Nicotine, the major component in tobacco smoke, has been considered playing an important role in tobacco-related morbidity by acting through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed by non-neuronal cells. Recently studies found that nAChRs could be expressed on oral gingival and periodontal tissues. We hypothesize that nicotine may act on periodontal tissues directly and specifically through nAChRs to affect periodontitis activity, and that nicotine-induced periodontitis could be prevented by tissue-selective nAChR inhibitors targeting periodontal nAChRs. Thus, periodontal nAChRs may provide to be novel molecular targets to treat smoking-related periodontitis, effectively blocking of periodontal nAChRs may offer an optimistic outlook for the therapy of smoking- related periodontitis.