title: Nucleotide receptors in the nervous system. An abundant component using diverse transduction mechanisms.
abstract: Extracellular nucleotides achieve their role as cell-to-cell communicators by acting at cell surface transmembrane receptors-the P2 receptors. Before molecular cloning led to the isolation of any P2-receptor sequence, a small number of receptor types had been proposed on the basis of pharmacological evidence. The application of molecular biology to this field of receptor research has indicated that a great underestimation of the number of receptor subtypes and of their abundance had occurred. There are now known to be seven characterized P2Y (G protein linked) receptors and the same number again of P2X receptors of the transmitter-gated ion channel type. In this review, we discuss the properties of these cloned receptors, their distribution within the nervous system, and their methods of signal transduction.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Unit, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Webb
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000502:physiology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012326:RNA Splicing; D051381:Rats; D018048:Receptors, Purinergic P2 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018048:Receptors, Purinergic P2; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate