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Physiological and pathological functions of P2X7 receptor in the spinal cord

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Abstract

ATP-mediated signaling has widespread actions in the nervous system from neurotransmission to regulation of proliferation. In addition, ATP is released during injury and associated to immune and inflammatory responses. Still, the potential of therapeutic intervention of purinergic signaling during pathological states is only now beginning to be explored because of the large number of purinergic receptors subtypes involved, the complex and often overlapping pharmacology and because ATP has effects on every major cell type present in the CNS. In this review, we will focus on a subclass of purinergic-ligand-gated ion channels, the P2X7 receptor, its pattern of expression and its function in the spinal cord where it is abundantly expressed. We will discuss the mechanisms for P2X7R actions and the potential that manipulating the P2X7R signaling pathway may have for therapeutic intervention in pathological events, specifically in the spinal cord.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NINDS NS38073, NS39559, and NS050315; The Adelson Program in Neural Repair and Regeneration, The New York State Spinal Cord Research Board, and the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research.

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  1. Division of Glial Disease and Therapeutics, Center for Translational Neuromedicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Maria Luisa Cotrina & Maiken Nedergaard

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  1. Maria Luisa Cotrina
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Correspondence to Maria Luisa Cotrina.

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Cotrina, M.L., Nedergaard, M. Physiological and pathological functions of P2X7 receptor in the spinal cord. Purinergic Signalling 5, 223–232 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11302-009-9138-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11302-009-9138-2

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