Hypertension:
This is a very common disorder with most common being idiopathic and has
good medications to combat it. Still there are cases who show poor
response to existing antihypertensives. So, with the knowledge from
preclinical studies showing the role of purinergic signaling via P2X1
receptors. ATP that acts as a co-transmitter with nor-adrenaline causes
vasoconstriction of arteries in rats which could be reversed by
guanethidine a drug that was proposed to act by ATP inhibitory effects
[14, 15]. Another study in Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)
showed inhibition of tail arteries in rats by desensitization of P2X1
receptors. Again, P2Y1 receptors also play an important role in intimal
proliferation of blood vessels and the drugs that antagonize these
receptors are potential candidates to prevent neointimal formation
[16]. These studies suggest that purinergic platelet receptors in
blood vessels could be potential targets for drug discovery in treatment
of hypertension and its complications.