Animal Models for the Investigation of P2X7 Receptors

The P2X7 receptor is a trimeric ligand-gated cation channel activated by extracellular adenosine 5 '-triphosphate. The study of animals has greatly advanced the investigation of P2X7 and helped to establish the numerous physiological and pathophysiological roles of this receptor in human health and disease. Following a short overview of the P2X7 distribution, roles and functional properties, this article discusses how animal models have contributed to the generation of P2X7-specific antibodies and nanobodies (including biologics), recombinant receptors and radioligands to study P2X7 as well as to the pharmacokinetic testing of P2X7 antagonists. This article then outlines how mouse and rat models have been used to study P2X7. These sections include discussions on preclinical disease models, polymorphic P2X7 variants, P2X7 knockout mice (including bone marrow chimeras and conditional knockouts), P2X7 reporter mice, humanized P2X7 mice and P2X7 knockout rats. Finally, this article reviews the limited number of studies involving guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys (rhesus macaques), dogs, cats, zebrafish, and other fish species (seabream, ayu sweetfish, rainbow trout and Japanese flounder) to study P2X7.

Automated summary

The P2X7 receptor is a ligand-gated cation channel that is activated by extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate. Animal models have played a crucial role in understanding the physiological and pathophysiological functions of P2X7 in human health and disease. This article highlights the contributions of animal models in generating tools for studying P2X7, such as specific antibodies, recombinant receptors, and pharmacokinetic testing of P2X7 antagonists. It also discusses the use of mouse, rat, and other animal models in studying P2X7, including disease models, knockout mice, reporter mice, and humanized mice.