%0 Book Section
%A Elmenhorst, David
%A Bier, Dirk
%A Holschbach, Marcus
%A Bauer, Andreas
%T Imaging of Adenosine Receptors; Chapter 7
%C Berlin, Heidelberg
%I Springer Berlin Heidelberg
%M FZJ-2014-01650
%@ 978-3-642-42013-9
%P 181-198
%D 2014
%< PET and SPECT of Neurobiological Systems
%X Adenosine is a fundamental molecule of life. It is a part of the DNA and the main degradation product of the central currency of energy metabolism in humans and animals – adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Under pathological conditions like hypoxia, the adenosine concentration can rise severalfold – up to micromolar concentrations. The net effect of adenosine on excitable tissue is inhibitory affecting the release of classical neurotransmitters like glutamate, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), and dopamine. The widely used neurostimulant caffeine exerts its effects as an antagonist at adenosine receptors. Four different types of adenosine receptors have been described in mammals: A1, A2A, A2B, and A3 which are all G-protein-coupled receptors. Over the last 25 years, adenosine receptor ligands, agonists as well as antagonists, have emerged as a class of useful therapeutics. For the A1 and A2A subtypes several antagonist radioligands have been used successfully for PET imaging in humans and animals especially for the brain.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)7
%9 Contribution to a book
%R 10.1007/978-3-642-42014-6_7
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/151761