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On P2X receptors in the brain: microvessels. Dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Geoffrey Burnstock (1929–2020)

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Abstract

This tribute article presents selected immunocytochemical and transmission electron microscope data on the location of ATP-gated P2X receptor in the rat brain, as studied in the 1990s in Prof G. Burnstock’s laboratory at University College London. There are examples of immuno-ultrastructural findings and introductory information about pre- and post-synaptic location of P2X receptors in the rat cerebellum and endocrine hypothalamus to support the concept of purinergic transmission in the central nervous system. Then findings of diverse immunoreactivity for P2X1, P2X2, P2X4, and P2X6 receptors associated with brain microvessels are shown, including vascular endothelium and pericytes as well as perivascular astrocytes and neuronal components. These findings imply the involvement of P2X receptors and hence purinergic signalling in the neurovascular unit, at least in microvessels in the rat cerebellum and hypothalamic paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei examined here. Various aspects of P2X receptors in brain microvessels are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Ms Tania Raquel Assuncao Martins for her editorial assistance.

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  1. Centre for Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases, Division of Medicine, University College London Medical School, Royal Free Campus, London, UK

    Andrzej Loesch

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Loesch, A. On P2X receptors in the brain: microvessels. Dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Geoffrey Burnstock (1929–2020). Cell Tissue Res 384, 577–588 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-021-03411-0

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