CHRNA7 and atherosclerosis: Among the subtypes, the α7nAChRs are composed of five identical α7 subunits, which appear to be involved in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis and are becoming one of important targets for early identification of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque (Sine, 2002; Wilund et al., 2009; Hashimoto et al., 2014; Johansson et al., 2014; Chen et al., 2016).