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P2X receptors as cell-surface ATP sensors in health and disease

Nature volume 442, pages 527–532 (2006)Cite this article

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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Figure 1: ATP signalling and families of mammalian ionotropic receptors.
Figure 2: Summary of P2X receptor structure–function studies.
Figure 3: Sensory transduction by P2X receptors.

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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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  1. Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, CB2 2QH, Cambridge, UK

    Baljit S. Khakh

  2. Departments of Physiology and Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, California, 90095-1751, Los Angeles, USA

    Baljit S. Khakh

  3. Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, M13 9PT, Manchester, UK

    R. Alan North

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Correspondence to Baljit S. Khakh or R. Alan North.

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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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