INDUCIBLE RECEPTORS

While regulation of receptor function is known to occur at many levels (e.g, transcriptional, post-translational), it is generally perceived that a tissue either expresses or does not express a particular recep tor in an all-or-none fashion. Many pathological (e.g. tissue injury) and physiological (e.g. angiogenesis) processes have, however, been sh own to be associated with the transcriptional induction of specific re ceptors. Induced receptors are not confined to any particular class, b ut range from G protein-coupled receptors to receptor tyrosine kinases . The potential implications of de novo receptor expression are profou nd with respect to potential novel therapeutic targets in specific dis ease states. Further, this observation may explain unexpected side-eff ects in the pharmacotherapy of existing disease states. In this articl e Lucy Donaldson, Michael Hanley and Amparo Villablanca discuss circum stances under which de novo receptor induction has been described, pot ential mechanisms of induction and the implications for pharmacology.