Cell Type-Specific Expression of Purinergic P2X Receptors in the Hypothalamus

Purinergic P2X receptors (P2X) are ATP-gated ion channels that are broadly expressed in the brain, particularly in the hypothalamus. As ionic channels with high permeability to calcium, P2X play an important and active role in neural functions. The hypothalamus contains a number of small nuclei with many molecularly defined types of peptidergic neurons that affect a wide range of physiological functions, including water balance, blood pressure, metabolism, food intake, circadian rhythm, childbirth and breastfeeding, growth, stress, body temperature and multiple behaviors. This review focuses on the possible role of P2X and extracellular ATP in specific hypothalamic functions and the cellular expression of P2X in the most important hypothalamic nuclei, such as the supraoptic nucleus (SON), paraventricular nucleus (PVN), suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), arcuate nucleus (ARC), ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH), dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH), tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) and lateral hypothalamic area (LHA).