In Silico Analysis of Ethanol Binding Activity in Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Ethanol and nicotine are two common substances that are often linked to complications in alcoholic smokers. The high number of the co-consumptions in alcoholic smokers suggested a possible interaction between ethanol and nicotine in the central nervous system and a potential similar mechanism of action. Both ethanol and nicotine are shown to bind with neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), a ligand gated cation channel specifically targeted by the endogenous acetylcholine. Ethanol has a much less specific binding capability to modulate the receptors, however, emerging reports indicates that ethanol can interact with nAChRs both directly and indirectly. This study focuses on the analysis of ethanol binding sites with nAChRs using molecular docking techniques obtained from the Protein Data Bank. The obtained data showed a possible binding site for ethanol in nAChRs, however, upon validation, result is not substantial. Nevertheless, the obtained data should be useful for future reference for the basis of ethanol interactions with the human nAChRs proteins.