Aspects of the general biology of adenosine A2A signaling

Many of our current hopes of finding better ways to treat Parkinson's disease or to stop its progression rely on studies of adenosine A2A receptors in the brain. Yet any drug targeting central receptors will also potentially affect receptors in other sites. Furthermore, several fundamental aspects of adenosine receptor biology must be taken into account. For these reasons the “Targeting adenosine A2A receptors in Parkinson's disease and other CNS disorders” meeting in Boston included selected aspects of the general biology of adenosine A2A receptor signaling. Some of the presentations from this part of the meeting are summarized in this first chapter. As will be apparent to the reader, these different parts do not form an integrated whole, but they do indicate areas the organizers felt might illuminate remaining questions regarding the roles of adenosine A2A receptors. The contributors to this part of the meeting have summarized some of the key questions below.