P2 receptors have been identified in rat kidney by autoradiography, using the radioligand [3H]α,β-methylene ATP, and by immunohistochemistry, using a polyclonal antibody to the P2X1 purinoceptor. They have been localized to the vascular smooth muscle of intrarenal arteries, including arcuate and interlobular arteries, and afferent arterioles, but not glomeruli, postglomerular efferent arteriole...

THE KIDNEY PLAYS a central role in regulating blood pressure, body fluid volume, body fluid composition, and electrolyte and water balance. Generations of effort have gone into understanding the tubular and vascular interactions that confer incredible fidelity in accomplishing these essential functions. While P2 purinergic signaling systems were investigated in other organ systems for some time...

Receptor subtypes for purines have been identified in a variety of tissues, increasing interest in the roles of purine-mediated signalling in pathophysiological processes. Growing evidence supports the involvement of one of the purinoceptor subtypes, P2X3, in nociception. In this article, recent studies of purine-mediated nociception and visceral pain will be discussed. Furthermore, a novel hyp...

Deviations from the physiological values of extracellular pH are monitored by multiple acid sensors. Acid-sensing ion channels are activated by moderate acidification, whereas transient receptor potential cation channels, notably TRPV1, are gated by severe acidosis. In contrast, ionotropic purinoceptor (P2X) ion channels, particularly P2X(2), and two-pore domain background K(+) channels, such a...

Why and how do cells release ATP? It is not spilled energy. ATP becomes an extracellular regulator. Various cellular responses are initiated by purinergic receptors and signaling processes and are terminated by breakdown of ATP by ectonucleotidases. In epithelia, ATP regulates salt and water transport; other effects may be longer lasting.

We previously demonstrated that the P2X7 receptor (P2X7R), a purinergic receptor, expressed by mouse cultured cortical astrocytes is constitutively activated without any exogenous stimulus, differing from the case of neurons. It is well known that astrocytic morphology differs between in vitro and in vivo situations, implying different functionalities. Brain acute slices are widely accepted as ...