Multiple alternatively spliced variants which would encode different isoforms have been identified although some fit nonsense-mediated decay criteria.

[7] The receptor is found in the central and peripheral nervous systems, in microglia, in macrophages, in uterine endometrium, and in the retina.

[24] The P2X7 receptor is a ligand-gated cation channel that opens in response to ATP binding and leads to cell depolarization.

[28] Conserved cysteine residues located in the carboxyl terminus seem to be important for receptor trafficking to the cell membrane.

[46] This article incorporates text from the United States National Library of Medicine, which is in the public domain.