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The functional role of heteromers of G-protein-coupled receptors is a matter of debate. In the present study, we demonstrate that

Adenosine is a neuromodulator that operates via the most abundant inhibitory adenosine A 1 receptors (A 1 Rs) and the less abundant, but widespread, facilitatory A 2A Rs. It is commonly assumed that A 1 Rs play a key role in neuroprotection since they decrease glutamate release and hyperpolarize neurons. In fact, A 1 R activation at the onset of neuronal injury attenuates brain damage, whereas its blockade exacerbates damage in adult animals. However, there is a down-regulation of central A 1 Rs in chronic noxious situations. In contrast, A 2A Rs are up-regulated in noxious brain conditions and their blockade confers robust brain neuroprotection in adult animals. The brain neuroprotective effect of A 2A R antagonists is maintained in chronic noxious brain conditions without observable peripheral effects, thus justifying the interest of A 2A R antagonists as novel protective agents in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, ischemic brain damage and epilepsy. The greater interest of A 2A R blockade compared to A 1 R activation does not mean that A 1 R activation is irrelevant for a neuroprotective strategy. In fact, it is proposed that coupling A 2A R antagonists with strategies aimed at bursting the levels of extracellular adenosine (by inhibiting adenosine kinase) to activate A 1 Rs might constitute the more robust brain neuroprotective strategy based on the adenosine neuromodulatory system. This strategy should be useful in adult animals and especially in the elderly (where brain pathologies are prevalent) but is not valid for fetus or newborns where the impact of adenosine receptors on brain damage is different.Abbreviations: Ab -b-amyloid peptide; A 1 Rs -A 1 receptors; A 2A Rs -A 2A

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The adenosine modulation system mostly operates through inhibitory A 1 (A 1 R) and facilitatory A 2A receptors (A 2A R) in the brain. The activity-dependent release of adenosine acts as a brake of excitatory transmission through A 1 R, which are enriched in glutamatergic terminals. Adenosine sharpens salience of information encoding in neuronal circuits: highfrequency stimulation triggers ATP release in the 'activated' synapse, which is locally converted by ecto-nucleotidases into adenosine to selectively activate A 2A R; A 2A R switch off A 1 R and CB1 receptors, bolster glutamate release and NMDA receptors to assist increasing synaptic plasticity in the 'activated' synapse; the parallel engagement of the astrocytic syncytium releases adenosine further inhibiting neighboring synapses, thus sharpening the encoded plastic change. Brain insults trigger a large outflow of adenosine and ATP, as a danger signal. A 1 R are a hurdle for damage initiation, but they desensitize upon prolonged activation. However, if the insult is near-threshold and/or of short-duration, A 1 R trigger preconditioning, which may limit the spread of damage. Brain insults also up-regulate A 2A R, probably to bolster adaptive changes, but this heightens brain damage since A 2A R blockade affords neuroprotection in models of epilepsy, depression, Alzheimer's, or Parkinson's disease. This initially involves a control of synaptotoxicity by neuronal A 2A R, whereas astrocytic and microglia A 2A R might control the spread of damage. The A 2A R signaling mechanisms are largely unknown since A 2A R are pleiotropic, coupling to different G proteins and non-canonical pathways to control the viability of glutamatergic synapses, neuroinflammation, mitochondria function, and cytoskeleton dynamics. Thus, simultaneously bolstering A 1 R preconditioning and preventing excessive A 2A R function might afford maximal neuroprotection. Keywords: A 1 receptor, A 2A receptor, astrocyte, microglia, synaptic plasticity, synaptotoxicity. This article is part of a mini review series: "Synaptic Function and Dysfunction in Brain Diseases". Relevance of modulation systems to tune information flow in brain circuitsThe goal of understanding the flow of information in neuronal circuits has traditionally been centered in studying the key processes sustaining synaptic transmission and plasticity -i.e. the role of glutamate and glutamate receptors, as well as to a lesser extent the role of GABA and its receptors. If one considers an analogy to the experience of watching TV, this corresponds to studying how the ON/OFF button impacts all Received April 4, 2016; revised manuscript received May 23, 2016; accepted June 23, 2016. Address correspondence and reprint requests to R. A. Cunha, Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal. E-mail: cunharod@gmail.com Abbreviations used: A 1 R, adenosine A 1 receptor; A 2A R, adenosine A 2A receptor; ADHD, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophi...

The physiological conditions under which adenosine A2A receptors modulate synaptic transmission are presently unclear. We show that A2A receptors are localized postsynaptically at synapses between mossy fibers and CA3 pyramidal cells and are essential for a form of long-term potentiation (LTP) of NMDA-EPSCs induced by short bursts of mossy fiber stimulation. This LTP spares AMPA-EPSCs and is likely induced and expressed postsynaptically. It depends on a postsynaptic Ca2+ rise, on G protein activation, and on Src kinase. In addition to A2A receptors, LTP of NMDA-EPSCs requires the activation of NMDA and mGluR5 receptors as potential sources of Ca2+ increase. LTP of NMDA-EPSCs displays a lower threshold for induction as compared with the conventional presynaptic mossy fiber LTP; however, the two forms of LTP can combine with stronger induction protocols. Thus, postsynaptic A2A receptors may potentially affect information processing in CA3 neuronal networks and memory performance.

Adenosine A2A receptors are highly enriched in the basal ganglia system. They are predominantly expressed in enkephalin-expressing GABAergic striatopallidal neurons and therefore are highly relevant to the function of the indirect efferent pathway of the basal ganglia system. In these GABAergic enkephalinergic neurons, the A2A receptor tightly interacts structurally and functionally with the dopamine D2 receptor. Both by forming receptor heteromers and by targeting common intracellular signaling cascades, A2A and D2 receptors exhibit reciprocal antagonistic interactions that are central to the function of the indirect pathway and hence to basal ganglia control of movement, motor learning, motivation and reward. Consequently, this A2A/D2 receptors antagonistic interaction is also central to basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. However, recent evidence demonstrates that, in addition to this post-synaptic site of action, striatal A2A receptors are also expressed and have physiological relevance on pre-synaptic glutamatergic terminals of the cortico-limbic-striatal and thalamo-striatal pathways, where they form heteromeric receptor complexes with adenosine A1 receptors. Therefore, A2A receptors play an important fine-tuning role, boosting the efficiency of glutamatergic information flow in the indirect pathway by exerting control, either pre- and/or post-synaptically, over other key modulators of glutamatergic synapses, including D2 receptors, group I metabotropic mGlu5 glutamate receptors and cannabinoid CB1 receptors, and by triggering the cAMP-protein kinase A signaling cascade.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects the elderly. The increase of life-expectancy is transforming AD into a major health-care problem. AD is characterized by a progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive skills leading to dementia. The major pathogenic factor associated to AD seems to be amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) oligomers that tend to accumulate extracellularly as amyloid deposits and are associated with reactive microglia and astrocytes as well as with degeneration of neuronal processes. The involvement of microglia and astrocytes in the onset and progress of neurodegenerative process in AD is becoming increasingly recognized, albeit it is commonly accepted that neuroinflammation and oxidative stress can have both detrimental and beneficial influences on the neural tissue. However, little is known about the interplay of microglia, astrocytes and neurons in response to Aβ, especially in the early phases of AD. This review discusses current knowledge about the involvement of neuroinflammation in AD pathogenesis, focusing on phenotypic and functional responses of microglia, astrocytes and neurons in this process. The abnormal production by glia cells of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and the complement system, as well as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, can disrupt nerve terminals activity causing dysfunction and loss of synapses, which correlates with memory decline; these are phenomena preceding the neuronal death associated with late stages of AD. Thus, therapeutic strategies directed at controlling the activation of microglia and astrocytes and the excessive production of pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant factors may be valuable to control neurodegeneration in dementia.