Extracellular ATP-gated channels (P2X receptors) define the third major family of ionotropic receptors, and they are expressed widely in nerve cells, muscles, and endocrine and exocrine glands. P2X subunits have two membrane-spanning domains, and a receptor is thought to be formed by oligomerization of three subunits. We have identified a conserved motif in the cytoplasmic C termini of P2X subunits that is necessary for their surface expression; mutations in this motif result in a marked reduction of the receptors at the plasma membrane because of a rapid internalization. Transfer of the motif to a reporter protein (CD 4 ) enhances the surface expression of the chimera, indicating that this motif is likely involved in the stabilization of P2X receptor at the cell surface. In neurons, mutated P2X 2 subunits showed reduced membrane expression and an altered axodendritic distribution. This motif is also present in intracellular regions of other membrane proteins, such as in the third intracellular loop of some G protein-coupled receptors, suggesting that it might be involve in their cellular stabilization and polarization.P2X receptors are extracellular ATP-gated ion channels; they define the third major class of ligand-gated channels together with the glutamate and the nicotinic superfamilies (1). P2X receptors are involved in synaptic transmission in the central and peripheral nervous systems, but in contrast to other ligand-gated channels, they are also widely expressed in peripheral tissues where they participate in physiological processes as diverse as smooth muscle contraction, secretion, and bone resorption. ATP-induced currents have been recorded from a large number of different cell types (2), but the molecular identity of P2X receptors responsible for these currents often remains elusive because of limitations of pharmacological tools to discriminate the different subtypes of P2X channels.Seven P2X subunit genes (P2X 1 -P2X 7 ) are found in the human genome; this number seems to be an accurate estimation of the extent of the P2X family in mammalian species, although in zebrafish two additional subunits appear to exist (2, 3). The basic structural determinants of P2X channels have been established by numerous molecular studies (4). P2X subunits have a membrane topology with two transmembrane domains linked by a large extracellular loop; N and C termini are localized intracellularly (5, 6). To form a channel, P2X subunits are thought to associate as homo-or heterooligomers, composed of three subunits (7, 8) organized in a head-to-tail orientation around a central pore (9). This model is consistent with studies that show that the permeation pathway is associated with transmembrane regions (10 -12), and with the fact that the gating of the channel is in part due to movements of the subunits relative to the each other (12). Conserved charged residues in the extracellular loop have been implicated in ATP binding (13,14), and desensitization is tightly linked to transmembrane domains and intracellular regions lo...