Abstract
P2X receptors are membrane ion channels activated by the binding of extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP). For years their functional significance was consigned to distant regions of the autonomic nervous system, but recent work indicates several further key roles, such as afferent signalling, chronic pain, and in autocrine loops of endothelial and epithelial cells. P2X receptors have a molecular architecture distinct from other ion channel protein families, and have several unique functional properties.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the staff of the LMB Visual Aids Unit and J. A. Fisher for help with the illustrations. Work in our laboratories is supported by the MRC, EMBO, HFSP, NIH and Wellcome Trust. We regret that space limitations prevented us from citing many important original papers.
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Khakh, B., Alan North, R. P2X receptors as cell-surface ATP sensors in health and disease. Nature 442, 527–532 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04886
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04886