Development of a comprehensive set of P2 receptor pharmacological research compounds

Pharmacological manipulation of P2X and P2Y receptors has been critical to the elucidation of the biological roles of these receptors within a multitude of physiological and pathological processes. Initial purinergic signalling research made use of compounds based on pyridoxal phosphate, suramin and nucleotide analogues; recently developed compounds are often derivatives of these early tools. Tocris Bioscience first entered the field of purinergic signalling reagents with the commercial release of the pyridoxal phosphate derivative, iso-PPADS. During the past two decades, Tocris has assembled a collection of over 50 compounds for P2 receptor modulation, including research tools commercialised from both academic and industrial laboratories. Recently, a number of P2X subtype-selective compounds have been generated by pharmaceutical company medicinal chemistry programmes, supplementing our range of P2Y-selective compounds. Here, we detail the current, commercially available agonists and antagonists of P2X_1,2/3,3,4,7 and P2Y_1,6,11,12 receptors; considered together, they form the foundations of a comprehensive P2 receptor pharmacological ‘toolkit’.