Protein Reviews

Katia Varani, Fabrizio Vincenzi, Stefania Merighi, Stefania Gessi, Pier Andrea Borea, Varani, Katia, Vincenzi, Fabrizio, Merighi, Stefania, Gessi, Stefania, Borea, Pier Andrea

Adenosine, the purine nucleoside, mediates its effects through activation of four G-protein coupled adenosine receptors (ARs) named as A1, A2A, A2B and A3. In particular, A1ARs are distributed through the body, primarily inhibitory in the regulation of adenylyl cyclase activity and able to reduce the cyclic AMP levels. Considerable advances have been made in the pharmacological and molecular characterization of A1ARs, which had been proposed as targets for the discovery and drug design of antagonists, agonists and allosteric enhancers. Several lines of evidence indicate that adenosine interacting with A1ARs may be an endogenous protective agent in the human body since it prevents the damage caused by various pathological conditions, such as in ischemia/hypoxia, epileptic seizures, excitotoxic neuronal injury and cardiac arrhythmias in cardiovascular system. It has also been reported that one of the most promising targets for the development of new anxiolytic drugs could be A1ARs, and that their activation may reduce pain signaling in the spinal cord. A1AR antagonists induce diuresis and natriuresis in various experimental models, mediating the inhibition of A1ARs in the proximal tubule which is primarily responsible for reabsorption and fluid uptake. In addition, the results of various studies indicate that adenosine is present within pancreatic islets and is implicated through A1ARs in the regulation of insulin secretion and in glucose concentrations. In the present paper it will become apparent that A1ARs could be implicated in the pharmacological treatment of several pathologies with an important influence on human health.