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Purinergic receptors

An ATP-gated ion channel at the cell nucleus

Nature volume 420, page 42 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Transcriptional activity inside the nucleus of eukaryotic cells is regulated by ions such as calcium that need to be transported across the nuclear membrane. Here we show that an ion channel spanning the nuclear envelope between the cytoplasm and the nucleus could be regulated by an ATP-binding receptor of the P2X7 subtype. Activation of this nuclear P2X7 receptor by ATP in the cytoplasm may be a mechanism by which cellular activity can be coupled to changes in gene expression.

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Figure 1: An ATP-gated ion channel spans the nuclear envelope.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9NQ, UK

    Lucy Atkinson, Carol. J. Milligan & Jim Deuchars

  2. School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Noel J. Buckley

Authors
  1. Lucy Atkinson
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  2. Carol. J. Milligan
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  3. Noel J. Buckley
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  4. Jim Deuchars
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jim Deuchars.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Atkinson, L., Milligan, C., Buckley, N. et al. An ATP-gated ion channel at the cell nucleus. Nature 420, 42 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/420042a

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