Recently, a second member of the protease-activated receptor (PAR) family, named PAR-2,
has been identified. Similar to the thrombin receptor, PAR-2 appears to be activated by
proteolytic-mediated exposure of a" tethered ligand" sequence and can also be activated by
the corresponding synthetic peptides. Similarities in the amino acid sequence of the
receptors' tethered ligand sequences suggest that their respective agonist peptides might
not be absolutely specific for their particular receptors. To test this, the receptor specificity of …