Extracellular Nucleotides and Nucleosides: Release, Receptors, and Physiological & Pathophysiological Effects

Purinergic receptors are proteins that bind ATP as their extracellular ligand. Once thought only as an intracellular molecule that provides energy, ATP is also now considered an essential autocrine/paracrine agonist that acts extracellularly within tissues and tissue microenvironments. Receptors for ATP and its metabolites, so-called "purinergic receptors," are essential membrane receptors that ...