1.A.7.1.3
ATP-gated NaCl-regulated nonselective cation (Na⁺, K⁺ and Ca²⁺) channel, the P2X purinoreceptor 7, P2X7. It expands to accommodate large molecules such as NAD, N-methyl-D-glucamine and triethyl ammonium) (Li et al., 2005; Lu et al., 2007) and plays a role in changing pain thresholds. A region called ADSEG in all P2X receptors is located in the M2 domain which aligns with TMS 5 in VIC K⁺ channels (1.A.1). ADSEG from P2X(7)R forms cation-selective channels in artificial lipid bilayers and biological membranes similar to those of the full length protein (de Souza et al., 2011). Regulated by calmodulin (Roger et al., 2008).  P2XRs allow direct permeation of nanometer-sized dyes (Browne et al. 2013).  Macrophage P2X7 receptors are modulated in response to infection with Leishmania amazonensis so that they become more permeable to anions and less permeable to cations (Marques-da-Silva et al. 2011).  Residues involved in pore conductivity and agonist sensitivity have been identified (Jindrichova et al. 2015) as have residues involved in channel activation (Caseley et al. 2016). The channel opening extends from the pre-TMS 2 region through the outer half of the trihelical TMS 2 channel; the gate and the selectivity filter have been identified (Pippel et al. 2017). The purinergic receptors, P2RX4 and P2RX7, when mutated, affect susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS) (Sadovnick et al. 2017). P2X7 may serve as a receptor for the regulation of annexin secretion during macrophage polarization (de Torre-Minguela et al. 2016). These receptors can reduce salivary gland inflammation (Khalafalla et al. 2017). The P2X7 receptor forms ion channels dependent on lipids but independently of its cytoplasmic domain (Karasawa et al. 2017).  A truncated naturally occurring variant of P2X7, P2X7-j of 258 aas, lacked the entire intracellular carboxyl terminus, the second TMS, and the distal third of the extracellular loops of the full-length P2X7 receptor. P2X7-j, expressed in the plasma membrane, failed to form pores and mediate apoptosis (Feng et al. 2006). P2X7-j formed heterooligomers with and blocked P2X7-mediated channel formation. Alternative splicing of P2X7 controls gatin of the ion channel by ADP-ribosylation (Schwarz et al. 2012). Three distinct roles for P2X7 during adult neurogenesis have been demonstrated, and these depend on the extracellular ATP concentrations: 
(i) P2X7 receptors can form transmembrane pores leading to cell death,
(ii) P2X7 receptors can regulate rates of proliferation, likely via calcium signalling, and
(iii) P2X7 can function as scavenger receptors in the absence of ATP, allowing neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to phagocytose apoptotic NPCs during neurogenesis (Leeson et al. 2018).
NAD⁺ covalently modifies the P2X7R of mouse T lymphocytes, thus lowering the ATP threshold for activation. Other structurally unrelated agents have been reported to activate  P2X7R: (a) the antibiotic polymyxin B, possibly a positive allosteric P2X7R modulator, (b) the bactericidal peptide LL-37, (c) the amyloidogenic β peptide, and (d) serum amyloid A (Di Virgilio et al. 2018). Some agents, such as Alu-RNA, have been suggested to activate P2X7R, acting on the intracellular N- or C-terminal domains.