Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research
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Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. · Jun 2002
Comparative StudyEthanol sensitivity in ATP-gated P2X receptors is subunit dependent.
P2X receptors are ligand-gated cation channels that are gated by synaptically released extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP). P2X receptors are inhibited by ethanol; however, few investigations have focused on ethanol's effects in P2X receptors. Recently, recombinant homomeric P2X4 receptors were reported to be sensitive to ethanol's inhibitory action, whereas recombinant P2X3 receptors were insensitive to ethanol. The two recombinant studies were conducted in different expression systems by using different techniques; therefore, questions remain. The present study tests the hypothesis that ethanol sensitivity in P2X receptors is subunit dependent. ⋯ The findings are the first to show (1) ethanol inhibition of ATP-activated currents on P2X2 receptors, (2) differences in ethanol sensitivity between homomeric P2X receptors when tested under matched conditions, and (3) evidence that suggests similar mechanisms of ethanol action for P2X2 and P2X4 receptors. These findings provide the first direct support for the hypothesis that ethanol sensitivity in P2X receptors is subunit dependent.
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This article presents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2001 Research Society on Alcoholism meeting in Montreal, Canada. The symposium was organized and chaired by Joel W. Grube. ⋯ Ellickson and Rebecca L. Collins; (4) USC health and advertising project: assessment study on alcohol advertisement memory and exposure, by Alan Stacy; and (5) TV beer and soft drink advertising: what young people like and what effects? by Meng-Jinn Chen and Joel W. Grube.