title: Slow neuromodulation mediated by ATP P2X receptors.
abstract: ATP-gated P2X receptors are widely expressed in the nervous system, but their physiological roles are not fully understood. New insights from Pougnet et al. (2014) in this issue of Neuron show that postsynaptic P2X receptors may be activated by ATP released from astrocytes and function to downregulate synaptic AMPA receptors in hippocampal neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: bkhakh@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Baljit S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Khakh
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D058469:Receptors, Purinergic P2X / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D058469:Receptors, Purinergic P2X; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate