Francesco Di Virgilio Pages 866 - 877 ( 12 )
Until recently, P2X receptors have not received much attention in the context of immunology and inflammation. While this is justified to a certain extent for P2X1, P2X2, P2X3, P2X5 and P2X6, which still await identification of a convincing role in the pathophysiology of immune cells, it is clearly not any more the case for P2X4 and even more so for P2X7, a molecule that has achieved the status of an essential, nonredundant, immunomodulatory receptor. In this review I will highlight the most important inflammatory responses participated by P2X receptors.
extracellular ATP, innate immunity, P2X4, P2X7, purinergic receptors.
Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Pathology, Oncology and Experimental Biology, Via Borsari 46, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.