We had also previously shown that cigarette smoke and asthma-relevant cytokines increase α7nAChR expression (35) and that activation of ASM nAChRs increases [Ca2+]i and cellular contractility to a greater extent in asthmatic ASM (34), highlighting the importance of hASM nAChRs and of nicotinic receptor activation in asthma pathophysiology. Here, CHRNA7 is linked to asthma.