Dissecting the Purinergic Signaling Puzzle

Pérez-Sen, Ráquel; Delicado, Esmerilda G.

doi:10.3390/ijms22168925

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Nucleotides act as extracellular messengers that regulate vast functions in almost any cell type present in animal organisms [ 1 ], and their effects are particularly important in the nervous system, both in physiological and pathological conditions [ 2 , 3 ]. On cells, nucleotide actions are mediated by P2 receptors, a family of membrane receptors that can be further classified into two different groups: P2Y and P2X receptors [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nucleotide-Induced Nanoscale Changes in the Mechanical Properties of Rat Cerebellar Astrocytes: Selective Stimulation and Blocking of the Purinergic Receptor P2X7

Gil-Redondo

Iturri

Trueba

et al. 2022

IJMS

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As members of the family of nucleotide receptors, P2X7 receptors are of particular interest due to their unique structural and pharmacological characteristics. As ATP-gated ionic channels, P2X7 receptors in their activation elicit membrane depolarization; extracellular calcium influx; and activation of several downstream intracellular signaling pathways, some of them independent of the ionic channel activity. Further interactions of P2X7 receptors and cytoskeleton-related proteins have also been confirmed, and we previously described the effects of P2X7 receptor stimulation on the morphology of rat cerebellar astrocytes. In the present work, we used time-lapse video microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to elucidate the effects of P2X7 receptor stimulation on the morphology, migratory capabilities, and mechanical properties of rat cerebellar astrocytes in vitro. Stimulation of P2X7 receptors with the selective agonist BzATP specifically caused an increase in cell size, motility, and number of membrane protrusions of the astrocytes in culture. These effects were reverted when cells were previously treated with the competitive antagonist of P2X7R, A 438079. AFM analysis also showed an increase in cell stiffness and viscosity after P2X7 receptor stimulation. Surprisingly, these effects on the mechanical properties of the cell were not blocked by the treatment with the antagonist. Fluorescence microscopy analysis of the actin cytoskeleton showed an increase in actin stress fibers after BzATP treatment, an effect that again was not blocked by previous treatment with the antagonist, further confirming that the effects of P2X7 receptors on the cytoskeleton of astrocytes are, at least in part, independent of the ionic channel activity.

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