Structural and Molecular Modeling Features of P2X Receptors

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Luiz Anastacio Alves³  João Herminio Martins da Silva²  Dinarte Neto Moreira Ferreira³  Antonio Augusto Fidalgo-Neto³  Pedro Celso Nogueira Teixeira³  Cristina Alves Magalh฾s de Souza³  Ernesto Raúl Caffarena¹ 

[1] Scientific Computation Program, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), 4365 Brazil ave, Rio de Janeiro 21045-900, Brazil; E-Mail:;Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) Ceará Avenida Santos Dumont, 5753, Torre Saúde, Sala 1303, Papicu, Fortaleza-CE, CEP 60180-900, Brazil; E-Mail:;Cell Communication Laboratory, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), 4365 Brazil ave, Rio de Janeiro 21045-900, Brazil; E-Mails:

关键词: P2X₇ receptor;    ion channel activity;    patch-clamp;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15034531

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Currently, adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) is recognized as the extracellular messenger that acts through P2 receptors. P2 receptors are divided into two subtypes: P2Y metabotropic receptors and P2X ionotropic receptors, both of which are found in virtually all mammalian cell types studied. Due to the difficulty in studying membrane protein structures by X-ray crystallography or NMR techniques, there is little information about these structures available in the literature. Two structures of the P2X4 receptor in truncated form have been solved by crystallography. Molecular modeling has proven to be an excellent tool for studying ionotropic receptors. Recently, modeling studies carried out on P2X receptors have advanced our knowledge of the P2X receptor structure-function relationships. This review presents a brief history of ion channel structural studies and shows how modeling approaches can be used to address relevant questions about P2X receptors.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland