Adenosine A2B receptors are highly expressed on murine type II alveolar epithelial cells.

The adenosine A(2B) receptor (A(2B)R) has a wide tissue distribution that includes fibroblasts and endothelial and epithelial cells. The recent generation of an A(2B)R(-/-) mouse constructed with a beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) reporter gene under control of the endogenous promoter has provided a valuable tool to quantify A(2B)R promoter activity (29). To determine the sites of expression of the A(2B) receptor in the mouse lung, histological and flow cytometric analysis of beta-gal reporter gene expression in various lung cell populations was performed.

The A2B adenosine receptor impairs the maturation and immunogenicity of dendritic cells.

The endogenous purine nucleoside adenosine is an important antiinflammatory mediator that contributes to the control of CD4(+) T cell responses. While adenosine clearly has direct effects on CD4(+) T cells, it remains to be determined whether actions on APC such as dendritic cells (DC) are also important. In this report we characterize DC maturation and function in BMDC stimulated with LPS in the presence or absence of the nonselective adenosine receptor agonist NECA (5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine).