REVIEW article
Front. Mol. Biosci.
Sec. Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2025.1625318
New views on physiological functions and regulation of butyrylcholinesterase and potential therapeutic interventions
Provisionally accepted
- 1Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhadd, Iran
- 2University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, United States
- 3Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
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Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is widely distributed in human tissues, although its physiological roles remain incompletely defined. It contributes modestly to cholinergic transmission and participates in lipid and ghrelin metabolism. BChE is pharmacologically and toxicologically significant due to its ability to hydrolyze various esters and neutralize toxic compounds such as carbamates and organophosphate (OP) pesticides and nerve agents. This review explores current insights into BChE functions and regulatory physiological mechanisms, with particular emphasis on its interaction with microRNAs (miRNAs) and defense against toxicants. BChE serves as a bioscavenger of OPs and reversible inhibitors, including several drugs and environmental chemicals. Moreover, its plasma activity is recognized as a valuable biomarker for disease prognosis, treatment monitoring, and the assessment of OP poisoning severity. Recent findings revealed a strong connection between specific miRNAs and BChE regulation, positioning these small non-coding RNAs as potential indicators of metabolic dysfunction and diverse pathological conditions. Additionally, miRNAs appear to modulate BChE expression in response to stress, inflammation, and immune responses. These discoveries highlight the potential of miRNA-based therapeutic approaches targeting BChE pathways in various clinical settings.
Keywords: acetylcholinesterase 1, butyrylcholinesterase 2, Functions 3, microRNA or miR 4, organophosphate poisoning 5, bioscavenger6
Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 10 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hajimohammadi, Lockridge and Masson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Patrick Masson, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
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