Adenosine STEPs on synaptic function: An Editorial for 'The activity of the STriatal-enriched protein tyrosine...

This is an Editorial Highlight of a manuscript by Mallozzi et al. (2019) in the current issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, in which the authors detail the biochemical pathway that leads to synaptic depression by cocaine. This pathway requires the adenosine A_2A receptor and STEP phosphatases. Activation of the adenosine A_2A receptor leads to an increase in intracellular calcium, activation of STEP by dephosphorylation, inhibition of excitatory ionotropic glutamate receptors by dephosphorylation of phospho-tyrosine residues and subsequent internalization of the ionotropic glutamate receptors. This adenosine A_2A receptor pathway could lead to potential drug targets for neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders.