• Norimitsu Morioka.
• Department of Pharmacology, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima, Japan. mnori@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
• Yakugaku Zasshi. 2011 Jan 1; 131 (7): 1047-52.

AbstractIt is shown that glial cells have a pivotal influence on the formation of neuronal network in central nerve system. Moreover, spinal microglia has some important roles in the development and progression of various neurological disorders. Therefore, it is possible that modulation of microglial activity may be sufficient to alleviate those harmful responses. ATP is one of signaling molecules in the spinal cord, and involved in regulation of several microglial functions through the binding of P2X and P2Y receptors. Thus, I focused on the ATP-mediated regulation mechanisms for the two important proteins, which are p38 MAP kinase and excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs), in cultured spinal microglia. Mounting evidence indicates that p38 in spinal microglia has crucial roles in some neurological diseases. Furthermore, it is recently suggested that microglial EAATs might participate in the homeostasis of glutamate in synapses. This review summarizes our finding regarding the involvement of P2Y receptors and β-adrenergic receptors in the regulation of p38 phosphorylation, and the mechanism of P2X7 receptor-mediated downregulation of EAATs function.

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