All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that may be construed like a potential conflict of interest. Acknowledgments We thank the lab Ginsenoside F1 affiliated to China Medical University or college for core support. Footnotes Funding. by adenosine triphosphate. It mediates Na+, Ca2+ influx, and K+ efflux, participates in several inflammatory reactions, and takes on an important part in the different mechanisms of cell death. However, the relationship between P2X7R-mediated cell death and the progression of OA requires investigation. With this review, we correlate potential links between P2X7R, cartilage degradation, and inflammatory element launch in OA. We specifically focus on swelling, apoptosis, pyroptosis, and autophagy. Lastly, we discuss the restorative potential of P2X7R like a potential drug target for OA. gene) is definitely most closely related to swelling and immunity, and belongs to the trimeric ligand-gated cation channel. Compared with additional P2X receptors, P2X7R requires a higher concentration of ATP for activation and has a higher affinity for the selective agonist BzATP, with 10C30 occasions more potency than ATP (North, 2002). In addition, natural splice variants (P2X7A-J) and Ginsenoside F1 (P2X7a, P2X7k, P2X713b, and P2X713c) were found in human being and rodent cells, respectively, with P2X7R posting 77C85% sequence identity. Therefore, several experiments have used rodent models to study the function of P2X7R. Structurally, P2X7R consists of relatively short intracellular amino- (N) and long ID1 carboxyl- (C) termini, and two hydrophobic transmembrane fragments separated by glycosylated extracellular ATP binding domains (transmembrane domains); its topology is similar to that of additional ionic P2X receptors (Khakh and North, 2006; Karasawa and Kawate, 2016). The practical channel toward the plasma membrane is composed of stable trimers (Nicke, 2008; Jiang et al., 2013). Moderate activation happens when the receptor is bound to ATP. The gated state of P2X7R is definitely opened, mediating non-inactivated Na+ and Ca2+ influx and K+ efflux, resulting in quick depolarization (Surprenant et al., 1996). When the activation time is long term, P2X7R can induce the formation of membrane pores, permitting molecules up to hundreds of Da to pass (Pelegrin and Surprenant, 2006). P2X7R Activation and Rules The transcription and manifestation of P2X7R can be controlled by microRNAs [e.g., miR-373 (Zhang et al., 2018)], long-coding RNAs (e.g., lncRNA NONRATT021972), and transcription factors [e.g., specific protein 1 (Sp1)], and P2X7R will also undergo post-translational modifications, including N-linked glycosylation, palmitoylation, and ADP-ribosylation (Sluyter, 2017). The most important mediator for the activation of receptors is definitely ATP and its role in swelling and immunity offers been proven. Cell death in inflammatory cells releases large amounts of ATP, increasing the extracellular ATP concentration to hundreds of M, which is enough to activate P2X7R. In contrast, the extracellular ATP concentration in healthy cells is very low (Pellegatti et al., 2008; Wilhelm et al., 2010; Barbera-Cremades et al., 2012). In addition to passive launch, ATP can also mix incomplete cell membranes through specific membrane protein channels, or can be stored in cytoplasmic vesicles and secreted outside the cell (Burnstock, 2006). Additional mechanisms, such as the one mediated from the space junction protein pannexin-1, control the release of ATP from living or apoptotic cells. Under certain conditions, such as hypoxia, improved extracellular K+ concentration, and mechanical stress stimulation, pannexin-1 offers high ATP permeability (Wang and Dahl, 2018). In undamaged cells, a small amount of ATP in the extracellular environment will become rapidly degraded by enzymes (Plesner, 1995). Consequently, to activate P2X7R, the ATP launch channel and the receptor should be in close proximity, which clarifies the closely related protein functions and constructions of pannexin-1 and P2X7R (Bao et al., 2004; Pelegrin and Surprenant, 2006; Locovei et al., 2007). The P2X7 receptor activation mediates several signaling pathways and cellular responses, such as the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome via K+ efflux, which induces IL-1 launch; the formation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen varieties (mtROS) via ATP signaling, which Ginsenoside F1 can also regulate the activity of P2X7.