Drug Discovery and Development for Purinergic Receptors

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular nucleosides and nucleotides that are derived from the purine (adenosine, ADP, and ATP) or the pyrimidine moiety (UDP and UTP) play crucial roles in the membrane-bound purinergic receptor’s signaling. There are two large families of purinergic receptors: P1 (adenosine-activated type 1 receptors) and P2 (nucleotide-activated type 2 receptors). The P1 family representing rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) was divided into four subtypes, namely, A₁, A_2A, A_2B, and A₃. The P2 family was further subdivided into P2Y receptors (8 subtypes: P2Y_{1, 2, 4, 6, 11-14}) representing GPCRs and P2X receptors (7 subtypes: P2X_1-7) representing ligand-gated ion channels (LGIC). Adenosine signals via the P1 receptors, and ATP binds directly with P2X and P2Y receptors, which mediate several pathophysiological processes. Purinergic receptors are the most important drug targets for complex diseases like inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. This Special Issue explores the drug discovery and development for purinergic receptors in honor of Professor Dr. Christa E. Müller on the occasion of her 60th birthday.

Dr. Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar
Guest Editor

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• Purinergic receptors
• P1 or P2 receptors
• Bioactive compounds
• Nuleosides and nucleotides
• Multitarget drugs
• Adenosine
• ATP or ADP
• Inflammation
• Cancer
• Neurodegenerative diseases