The Role of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor M 3 in Cardiovascular Diseases.

The muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M 3 (M 3 -mAChR) is involved in various physiological and pathological processes. Owing to specific cardioprotective effects, M 3 -mAChR is an ideal diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Growing evidence has linked M 3 -mAChR to the development of multiple CVDs, in which it plays a role in cardiac protection such as anti-arrhythmia, anti-hypertrophy, and anti-fibrosis. This review summarizes M 3 -mAChR's expression patterns, functions, and underlying mechanisms of action in CVDs, especially in ischemia/reperfusion injury, cardiac hypertrophy, and heart failure, opening up a new research direction for the treatment of CVDs.