Functional Characteristics of Three P2X2 Splice Variants of the ATP Receptor

蛋白质是动物组织中细胞的组成部分。我们的实验室一直专注于研究神经组织中涉及从一个细胞向另一个细胞传递信息的蛋白质，即信息的接收者/翻译者。这项提议将集中在名为P2X2的蛋白质的作用上，该蛋白质从被称为三磷酸腺苷(ATP)的信使那里接收信息。我们最近发现了一种名为P2X2-3的新形式的蛋白质。我们已经确定这种新的蛋白质具有非常不寻常的结构。基于这种不同寻常的结构，我们推测P2X2-3可能在细胞中具有特殊的作用。这个角色可能是在接收到信使ATP时将一种特殊类型的消息翻译给细胞。因此，本提案将研究P2X2-3在细胞中的功能。我们将确定它与其他相关蛋白质在功能上的不同之处。这些目标将通过首先研究蛋白质来实现，方法是将它们放入特殊的细胞中，在没有任何其他蛋白质干扰的情况下，可以确定它们的功能。然后我们将确定组织中哪些细胞已经产生了待研究的蛋白质，我们将研究这些细胞中的蛋白质。最后，将从分离中获得的结果与从组织中获得的细胞获得的结果进行比较。我们预测，组织细胞中蛋白质的性质将由在分离中观察到的蛋白质的性质决定。通过这种方式，我们将定义P2X2-3在细胞中的作用。这些结果还将使我们能够预测类似蛋白质在神经组织中的作用。

Bobbin, Richard P.987165Lay summaryProteins are the building blocks of cells in animal tissue. Our laboratory has been focusing its research on proteins involved in communicating messages from one cell to another in nervous tissue, i.e., the receivers/translators of the message. This proposal will concentrate on the role of the protein called P2X2 that receives messages from the messenger known as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). We have recently discovered a new form of the protein called P2X2-3. We have determined that this new protein has a very unusual structure. Based on this unusual structure, we surmise that P2X2-3 may have a special role in cells. This role may be to translate a special type of message to the cell when the messenger, ATP, is received. Therefore, this proposal will investigate the function of P2X2-3 in cells. We will determine how it is functionally different from other related proteins. These goals will be accomplished by first studying the proteins by placing them into special cells where their function can be defined without any other proteins interfering with the study. Then we will determine what cells in tissue already make the protein to be studied and we will study the protein in these cells. Finally, the results obtained in isolation will be compared to results obtained from cells obtained from the tissue. We predict that the properties of the proteins in the cells from the tissue will be determined by the properties of the proteins observed in isolation. In this manner, we will define the role of P2X2-3 in cells. These results will also allow us to predict the role of similar proteins in nervous tissue