Participation of Purinergic P2X Receptors in the Thermoregulatory Response to Cooling

Abstract

We studied the role of purinergic P₂X receptors in the body response to cooling. In experiments on rats, P₂X receptor antagonist PPADS was administered in different modes, which resulted in changes of different characteristics of the thermoregulatory response to cold. Iontophoresis of P₂X antagonist into the skin decreased the thermal thresholds of all thermoregulatory responses to cooling, which can attest to a modulating effect of P₂X receptors on peripheral thermosensitive afferents. Intraperitoneal administration of P₂X antagonist suppressed thermoregulatory activity of skeletal muscles (shivering) developing during cooling without changing the thresholds of thermoregulatory responses. The findings suggest that ATP and P₂X receptors play an important role in the formation of the response to cooling.