Purinergic systems adenosine receptors

Purinergic System Adenosine Receptors Sterol Transporters... 

A1 adenosine receptors are inhibitory in the central nervous system. A receptors were originally characterized on the basis of their ability to inhibit adenylyl cyclase in adipose tissue. A number of other G-protein-mediated effectors of A receptors have subsequently been discovered these include activation of K+ channels, extensively characterized in striatal neurons [13], and inhibition of Ca2+ channels, extensively characterized in dorsal root ganglion cells [14]. Activation of A receptors has been shown to produce a species-dependent stimulation or inhibition of the phosphatidylinositol pathway in cerebral cortex. In other tissues, activation of A receptors results in synergistic activation of the phosphatidylinositol pathway in concert with Ca2+-mobilizing hormones or neurotransmitters [15]. The effectors of A adenosine receptors and other purinergic receptor subtypes are summarized in Table 17-2. 

Purines such as ATP and adenosine play a central role in the energy metabolism of all life forms. This fact probably delayed recognition of other roles for purines as autocrine and paracrine substances and neurotransmitters. Today it is recognized that purines are released from neurons and other cells and that they produce widespread effects on multiple organ systems by binding to purinergic receptors located on the cell surface. The principal ligands for... 

Bumstock, G, Overview (Purinergic receptors). In Role of adenosine and adenine nucleotides in the b/olog/col system, (eds Imai, S and Nakrtzawa, M), Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1991,3-16. 

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