ATP induces contraction of cultured brain capillary pericytes via activation of P2Y-type purinergic receptors
Sofie Hørlyck, Changsi Cai, Hans Christian Cederberg Helms, Martin Lauritzen, Birger Brodin
Abstract
The study concerns brain capillary pericytes, which have been suggested to play a role in the regulation of cerebral blood flow. We show that extracellular ATP causes contraction of primary brain pericytes by stimulation of purinergic receptors and subsequent release of intracellular Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ). The contraction is mainly mediated through activation of P2Y-receptor subtypes, including P2Y 1 and P2Y 2 . These findings add more mechanistic understanding of the role of pericytes in regulation of capillary blood flow. ATP was earlier suggested to be involved in capillary constriction in brain pathologies, and our study gives a detailed account of a part of this important mechanism.