Nature: New research clearly reveals that adenosine is a neurotransmitter that acts as opposed to dopamine

In a new study, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University in the United States found that the neurotransmitter adenosine has an effective braking effect on dopamine, another widely known neurotransmitter involved in motor control
.
They found that adenosine works in the brain in a dynamic way with dopamine in a push-pull dynamic.

The results of the study were published online on November 9, 2022 in the journal Nature under the title "Locomotion activates PKA through dopamine and adenosine in striatal neurons.
"

Corresponding author Dr.
Haining Zhong of the Worm Institute at Oregon Health and Science University, said, "There are two neural circuits: one that helps promote movement and the other that inhibits movement
.
Dopamine promotes the first neural circuit to achieve movement, while adenosine is the 'brake' that promotes the second neural circuit and brings balance to the locomotor system
.
”

The discovery could immediately lay the groundwork
for the development of novel drugs to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder, and the loss of dopamine-producing neurons is widely recognized as a cause
of the disease.

Scientists have long suspected that dopamine is affected by opposite dynamic changes in neuronal signaling in the striatum--- a key area of the brain responsible for regulating movement, reward, motivation and learning
.
The striatum is also the main brain region
affected by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in Parkinson's disease.

Image from Nature, 2022, doi:10.
1038/s41586-022-05407-4
.

Dr.
Tianyi Mao, co-author of the paper and from the Worm Institute at Oregon Health and Science University, said, "This push-pull system
has long been suspected.
”

In this new study, the authors clearly and unambiguously reveal for the first time that adenosine is a neurotransmitter
that acts as opposed to dopamine.
The study, involving mice, used a new genetically engineered protein probe recently developed by Zhong's lab and Mao's lab
.

Notably, adenosine is also a well-known receptor
for caffeine action.
Mao said, "Drinking coffee can remove the braking effect of adenosine
.
(Biovalley Bioon.
com)

Resources:

Lei Ma et al.
 Locomotion activates PKA through dopamine and adenosine in striatal neurons, Nature, 2022, doi:10.
1038/s41586-022-05407-4.