細胞外的三磷酸腺苷( eATP )被廣泛用於細胞與細胞之間的交流。在環繞靜止態細胞周圍「暈輪」中的低濃度 eATP 則表明,鄰近有活細胞的存在。eATP 的短暫增加被神經和血管系統用來施放基本的生理信號,而eATP 的較大幅度的增加則與細胞死亡有關,並被用作炎症過程中的一個關鍵性的「危險」信號。
在2009 年2 月3 日的一篇 Perspective 中,A. Trautmann對兩則新的研究做了重點介紹。這些研究指出,ATP 在免疫系統中也起著作用。其中一個研究小組發現,eATP 向 T 細胞發出了協同刺激信號以易化對抗原的識別;另外一個研究小組報導說,由共生菌釋放的eATP 會驅使腸道的輔助性 T 細胞分化,而後者則參與介導針對傳染因子的炎症反應。引起這種現象的細胞網絡還有待人們發現。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推薦原始出處:
Sci. Signal., 3 February 2009 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.256pe6
Extracellular ATP in the Immune System: More Than Just a "Danger Signal"
Alain Trautmann
Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, CNRS (UMR 8104), Paris, France. Inserm, U567, Paris, France.
Abstract: Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (eATP) is ubiquitously used for cell-to-cell communication. The low concentration of eATP ([eATP]) that exists in a "halo" surrounding resting cells signals the presence of neighboring living cells. Transient increases in [eATP] are used for basic physiological signaling, namely, in the nervous and vascular systems. Larger increases in [eATP] that are associated with cell death serve as a key "danger" signal in inflammatory processes. Two studies now point to roles for ATP in the immune system: providing a costimulatory signal to T cells and driving the differentiation of intestinal T helper 17 (TH17) cells.