ATP: an extracellular signaling molecule between neurons and glia.
Recent studies on Schwann cells at the neuromuscular junction and non-synaptic regions of premyelinated axons indicate that extracellular ATP can act as an activity-dependent signaling molecule in communication between neurons and glia. Several mechanisms have been observed for the regulated release of ATP from synaptic and non-synaptic regions, and a diverse family of receptors for extracellular ATP has been characterized. The findings suggest functional consequences of neuron-glial communication beyond homeostasis of the extracellular environment surrounding neurons, including regulating synaptic strength, gene expression, mitotic rate, and differentiation of glia according to impulse activity in neural circuits.
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Neurocytology and Physiology Unit, Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology at the National Institutes of Health, NICHD, Bldg 49, Room 5A38, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D011983:Receptors, Purinergic / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*
D011983:Receptors, Purinergic; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate