title: Adenosine 5'-triphosphate axis in obstructive airway diseases.
abstract: In recent years, significant progress has been made in our understanding of the pathophysiology behind obstructive airway diseases in general and asthma in particular; this knowledge, however, has not translated to major breakthroughs in the treatment of these disorders. Current therapeutic options are less than optimal and frequently are associated with systemic adverse effects. Recent studies indicate that endogenous purine nucleotides, adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) in particular, could play a mechanistic role in obstructive airway diseases through their actions on multiple cell types relevant to these disorders, including mast cells, eosinophils, dendritic cells, and neurons. The pharmacologic modulation of ATP signal transduction in these cells represents an attractive new therapeutic target.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-1192, USA. pellega@drexel.edu
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pelleg
authors.forename: Edward S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Schulman
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D011983:Receptors, Purinergic / Q000187:drug effects*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D011983:Receptors, Purinergic; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate