What are the different muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes and how are they distributed in the airways and molecular signalling mechanisms? What is their function in neurogenic and non-neurogenic control of the airways and in inflammatory mechanisms? How is their gene expression regulated? The great importance of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors for the pathophysiology and treatment of chronic inflammatory obstructive airways diseases calls for a comprehensive and integrated overview of the current knowledge to address such questions, to discuss the role of these receptor subtypes in diseases such as asthma and COPD, and to present novel perspectives on antimuscarinic drug development. The present book is the worthy result of this need. It points out innovative insights into the hitherto poorly understood role of postjunctional muscarinic M2 receptors in airway smooth muscle contraction and sheds some light on the novel concepts of antimuscarinic drug development, with special reference to the l