Secrets of single spike-evoked adenosine release in the cerebellum

Researchers at the University of Warwick took the novel approach of enhancing adenosine release to carefully monitor the purine's response to a single stimulus. Using slices taken from the cerebellum they enhanced the probability of adenosine release using the potassium channel blocking drug 4-AP. NPI Electronic provided an elegant solution for focal application of ATP (PDES-02DX), controlled stimulation and extracellular recording from the slices (ISO-STIM 01M and EXT-10C). This enabled the researchers to measure extracellular ATP breakdown, and to trigger repeatable pulses and monitor the subsequent adenosine release via Biosensors.

This allowed the team to explore the release dynamics in never-before-seen detail and gain a quantitative understanding of it's signaling pathway. The results showed similar properties to fast neurotransmitters which are better understood, including dependence on action potential width, reproducible waveforms and history-dependent amplitudes.

This research, published in the Journal of Physiology, is an excellent example of precise bioelectrical measurements helping to uncover the dynamics of little understood neurotransmitters.

Klyuch et al, 2011 The Journal of Physiology 589.2 pp 283–295 The dynamics of single spike-evoked adenosine release in the cerebellum