Commentary
Subject Category: Commentary
British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 1087–1089; doi:10.1038/bjp.2008.7; published online 11 February 2008
cAMP: fuel for extracellular adenosine formation?
A Gödecke1
1Institut für Herz- und Kreislaufphysiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Correspondence: Professor A Gödecke, Institut für Herz- und Kreislaufphysiologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Postfach 101007, Düsseldorf 40001, Germany. E-mail: axel.goedecke@uni-duesseldorf.de
Received 26 November 2007; Revised 13 December 2007; Accepted 7 January 2008; Published online 11 February 2008.
Abstract
It is well known that cAMP, an important intracellular second messenger, is released from many cells upon adenylate cyclase stimulation. Cell surface bound phosphodiesterase together with ecto-5'-nucleotidase may convert the extracellular cAMP to adenosine, which may stimulate in a paracrine and/or autocrine manner cells expressing P1 receptors. In this issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Chiavegatti et al. demonstrate the existence of an extracellular cAMP-adenosine cascade in skeletal muscle cells which suggests a link between adrenergic stimulation of contraction, elevated cAMP formation and release and exercise hyperaemia.
Keywords:
adenosine, cAMP, ecto-phosphodiesterase, CD73, 5'-nucleotidase
Abbreviations:
eNTPD; CD39, ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase; e-5'-NTase/CD73, ecto-5'-nucleotidase
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