PREFACE.- Pier Andrea Borea.- INTRODUCTION¿.- From hypertension (+) to asthma: interactions with the adenosine A3 receptor from a personal perspective (John Fozard).- SECTION: PHYSICO- CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.- Thermodynamic analysis in drug-receptor binding: the A3 adenosine receptor (Pier Andrea Borea, Stefania Gessi, Stefania Merighi and Katia Varani).- Pharmacology and molecular biology of A3 adenosine receptors (Karl-Norbert Klotz).- SECTION: SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION.- Regulation of second messenger systems and intracellular pathways (Stefania Merighi, Carolina Simioni, Rob Lane and Adriaan P. IJzerman.- Desensitisation in A3 adenosine receptor regulation: physiopathological implications (M. Letizia Trincavelli, Osele Ciampi and Claudia Martini).- SECTION: MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY.- 6. A3 receptor agonists: history and future perspectives (Kenneth A. Jacobson, Zhan-Guo Gao, Dilip K. Tosh, Gangadhar J. Sanjayan and Sonia de Castro).- 7. A3 adenosine receptor antagonists: history and future perspectives (Pier Giovanni Baraldi, Romeo Romagnoli, Giulia Saponaro, Stefania Baraldi, Mojgan Aghazadeh Tabrizi and Delia Preti).- 8. Molecular modeling and re-engineering of A3 adenosine receptors (Stefano Moro, Erika Morizzo and Kenneth A. Jacobson).- SECTION: EFFECTS ON TISSUES AND ORGANS AND THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS.- 9. Adenosine A3 receptor signaling in the central nervous system (Felicita Pedata, Anna Maria Pugliese, Ana M. Sebastião and Joaquim A. Ribeiro).- 10. Cardiovascular biology of the A3 adenosine receptor (John P. Headrick, Jason N. Peart, Tina C. Wan, Wai-Meng Kwok and John A. Auchampach).- 11. A3 adenosine receptor in the pulmonary system (Yifat Klein and Idit Matot).- 12. A3 adenosine receptor regulation of cells of the immune system and modulation of inflammation (Stefania Gessi, Valeria Sacchetto, Eleonora Fogli and JohnFozard).- 13. Adenosine A3 receptors in muscle protection (Bruce T. Liang, Maria Urso, Edward Zambraski and Kenneth A. Jacobson).- 14. A3 adenosine receptors, HIF-1 modulation and atherosclerosis (Stefania Gessi, Stephen MacLennan, Edward Leung and Pier Andrea Borea).- SECTION: INFLAMMATORY AND AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES.- 15. Rheumatoid arthritis: history, molecular mechanisms and therapeutic applications (Pnina Fishman and Sara Bar-Yehuda).- SECTION: CANCER.- 16. Agonists and antagonists: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic applications (Pnina Fishman, Sara Bar-Yehuda, Katia Varani, Stefania Gessi, Stefania Merighi and Pier Andrea Borea).