ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to review some of the molecular properties of autonomic and neuropeptide receptors that are important in normal lung function. The application of molecular biology to the study of receptors has had a profound impact on the understanding of receptor structure and function and receptor mechanisms. Although pharmacologically distinct, the receptors share a common mechanism of signal transduction involving guanine nucleotide regulatory proteins, suggesting the existence of a family of membrane receptors. Within this family are a number of receptors relevant to lung physiology, including adrenergic, muscarinic, and tachykinin receptors. Compared with the ß-adrenergic receptor, less is known about the ligand-binding domain of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. The primary and secondary structure of the tachykinin receptors is not unlike that of the adrenergic and muscarinic receptors. However, critical differences in these structures must exist in order to confer specificity for the binding of peptide versus small amine agonists.
