Our laboratory is devoted to study the role of nucleotides including purines and pyrimidines such as ATP, ADP, UTP, UDP and adenosine, as novel extracellular autocrine/paracrine signals. ATP in particular is stored in synaptic vesicles of sympathetic nerve endings where it operates as a sympathetic co-transmitter acting together with noradrenaline. However, nucleotides are also released to the extracellular media, from almost all cells, by a variety of stimuli such as: hypoxia, ischemia, swelling, or mechanical stress; their mechanism of release is unkown. ATP is rapidly hydrolyzed to adenosine, which is no longer an inactive ATP metabolite, since it modulates, through presynaptic receptors, the release of sympathetic co-transmitters. Adenosine can also be released by hypoxia.
Combining electrophysiology, bioassays, cell biology and analytical techniques, we investigate fundamental physiological aspects of extracellular nucleotides.
FONDAP-CRCP
Av. Bernardo O´Higgins 340 -
Santiago -
Región Metropolitana
Chile
Phone: 56-2-6862592 - Fax: 56-2-6862959
fondapni@bio.puc.cl
http://www.fondap-crcp.cl
Mechanisms of the purinergic receptors