Adenosine receptors as promising targets for the management of ocular diseases

Spinozzi, Eleonora; Baldassarri, Cecilia; Acquaticci, Laura; Del Bello, Fabio; Grifantini, Mario; Cappellacci, Loredana; Riccardo, Petrelli

The ocular drug discovery arena has undergone a significant improvement in the last few years culminating in the FDA approvals of 8 new drugs. However, despite a large number of drugs, generics, and combination products available, it remains an urgent need to find breakthrough strategies and therapies for tackling ocular diseases. Targeting the adenosinergic system may represent an innovative strategy for discovering new ocular therapeutics. This review focused on the recent advance in the field and described the numerous nucleoside and non-nucleoside modulators of the four adenosine receptors (ARs) used as potential tools or clinical drug candidates.