Adenosine release linked to Na sodium pump activation

What is it about?

Adenosine is a major modulator in the brain that can be released in response to neural activity. In this paper we document the unexpected finding that influx of sodium into neurons will cause adenosine release. This happens because the pumps that expel the sodium to maintain ionic balances in neurons consume ATP to power their actions. The consumption of ATP results in intracellular adenosine production, which then is transported across the cell membrane into the extracellular space.

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Why is it important?

How adenosine is produced and released from neural cells is presently unclear. Our data show an unexpected finding that every time the sodium pump is activated, so adenosine is released from the cell. Since neurons spend a lot of energy expelling the sodium that has entered during signaling, this is a very general mechanism of adenosine production that could be important for major physiological and pathophysiological processes such as sleep and epilepsy.