Cholinergic receptor, nicotinic, alpha 6, also known as CHRNA6, is a human gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

, which codes for the α6 subunit found in certain types of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs, are cholinergic receptors that form ligand-gated ion channels in the plasma membranes of certain neurons and on the postsynaptic side of the neuromuscular junction...

s found primarily in the brain. Neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors containing α6 subunits are expressed on dopamine

Dopamine

Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...

-releasing neurons in the midbrain, and dopamine release following activation of these neurons is thought to be involved in the addictive

Substance dependence

The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...

 properties of nicotine

Nicotine

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...

. Due to their selective localisation on dopaminergic neurons, α6-containing nACh receptors have also been suggested as a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

.

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