• Soichiro Ide, Masabumi Minami, and Kazutaka Ikeda.
• Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812.
• Masui. 2009 Sep 1; 58 (9): 1122-9.

AbstractExtracellular adenosine 5'triphosphate (ATP) has been recognized as a neurotransmitter and/or neuromodulater in the nervous systems, through acting on specific receptors, P2 purinergic receptors on the cell surface. P2 purinergic receptors are divided into two classes; P2X receptors, which are ATP-gated cation channels and subdivided into seven subtypes, and P2Y receptors, which are heptahelical G-protein coupled receptors and subdivided into eight subtypes. Recent studies revealed that ATP and its receptors are involved in peripheral and central nociceptive transmissions, including the mechanism of neuropathic pain. On the other hand, many gene polymorphisms, most of which are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), reportedly exist in the genes encoding P2X and P2Y receptors. Further, some of the SNPs have been revealed to cause changes of receptor functions. Our recent study showed one of these SNPs tends to be associated with the pain sensitivity induced by the cold stimuli. Association studies of these polymorphisms in the gene encoding P2X and P2Y receptors with the pain sensitivity and effects of analgesics may provide novel and useful suggestions for personalized pain managements.

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