Purinergic signalling: an experimental perspective

Investigation of the multiple roles of extracellular nucleotides in the cochlea has developed from analysis of ATP-activated conductances in single sensory hair cells. Molecular probes such as radiolabelled ATP analogues and radiolabelled mRNA for ATP-gated ion channel subunits (P2X receptors) rapidly revealed the extensive nature of ATP signalling in this sensory organ. This has provided a foundation for physiological investigations which put extracellular nucleotides at the centre of homeostatic regulation of the driving force for sound transduction, modulation of mechanical tuning, control of cochlear blood flow and auditory neurotransmission. The purinergic signal transduction pathways associated with these processes have several novel features of significance to the broader field of purinergic neuroscience. In turn, these studies have benefited from the recent experimental advances in the field of purinergic signalling, a significant component of which is associated with the work of Professor Geoffrey Burnstock.