Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026
07:27
Two-photon Imaging of Microglial Processes' Attraction Toward ATP or Serotonin in Acute Brain Slices
Published on: January 31, 2019
Microglia release ATP by exocytosis
Yoshio Imura1, Yosuke Morizawa, Ryohei Komatsu
1Department of Neuropharmacology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi, Japan.
Glia
|July 9, 2013
Summary
Microglia release adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via exocytosis, a process involving calcium, vesicular H⁺-ATPase, and SNAREs. This ATP release mechanism is crucial for activated microglia function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Microglia, the brain's immune cells, sense extracellular nucleotides like ATP to modulate their function.
- The mechanism by which microglia release ATP remains largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanism of ATP release from microglia.
- To investigate the role of exocytosis in microglial ATP release.
Main Methods:
- Microglial stimulation with ionomycin to induce ATP release.
- Assessment of ATP release dependence on Ca²⁺, vesicular H⁺-ATPase, SNAREs, and hemichannels.
- Analysis of Vesicular Nucleotide Transporter (VNUT) expression and localization.
- Fluorescent time-lapse imaging of ATP exocytosis using quinacrine.
- Investigating the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on ATP release.
Main Results:
- Microglia release ATP through a Ca²⁺-dependent exocytotic process.
- ATP release was dependent on vesicular H⁺-ATPase and SNAREs, but not connexin/pannexin hemichannels.
- VNUT is expressed in microglia and its expression increases upon LPS stimulation, correlating with enhanced ATP release.
- Exocytosis of ATP by microglia was directly visualized using time-lapse imaging.
Conclusions:
- Exocytosis is the primary mechanism for ATP release from microglia.
- VNUT-dependent exocytosis is upregulated in activated microglia, contributing to extracellular ATP signaling.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:27Autophagy
Autophagy is a self-digesting process by which a cell protects itself from threats both within and outside the cell, ranging from abnormal proteins to invading bacteria. In this process, obsolete components of the cell and invading microbes are degraded by hydrolytic enzymes active in an acidic environment of the lysosomal lumen.
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
An autophagic pathway consists of a series of signaling events activated in response to diverse stress and physiological conditions such as food deprivation,...
00:50Exocytosis
Exocytosis is a process that releases molecules outside the cell. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...
00:51Exocytosis
Exocytosis is used to release material from cells. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.