Aim: To compare pharmacological properties of heterologously expressed homomeric a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (a.7 nAChRs) with those of native nAChRs containing a.7 subunit (a.7* nAChRs) in rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Methods: We established a stably transfected HEK-293 cell line that expresses homomeric rat a7 nAChRs. We studies ligand binding profiles and functional properties of nAChRs expressed in this cell line and native rat a.7* nAChRs in rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex. We used [125IJ-a-bungarotoxin to compare ligand binding profiles in these cells with those in rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The functional properties of the a.7 nAChRs expressed in this cell line were studied using whole-cell current recording.Results: The newly established cell line, KXa7Rl, expresses homomeric a7 nAChRs that bind [125I]-a-bungarotoxin with a Kd value of 0.38±0.06 nmol/L, similar to Kj values of native rat a.7* nAChRs from hippocampus (Kd=0.28±0.03 nmol/L) and cerebral cortex (Kd=0.33±0.05 nmol/L). Using whole-cell current recording, the homomeric a7 nAChRs expressed in the cells were activated by acetylcholine and (-)-nicotine with EC50 values of 280±19 nmol/L and 180±40 nmol/L, respectively. The acetylcholine activated currents were potently blocked by two selective antagonists of a.7 nAChRs, a-bungarotoxin (IC5o=19±2 nmol/L) and methyllycaconitine (IC50=100±10 pmol/L). A comparative study of ligand binding profiles, using 13 nicotinic ligands, showed many similarities between the homomeric a.7 nAChRs and native a.7* receptors in rat brain, but it also revealed several notable differences.Conclusion: This newly established stable cell line should be very useful for studying the properties of homomeric a7 nAChRs and comparing these properties to native a.7* nAChRs.