Purine Receptor P2Y Modulators as CNS Therapeutics and In Stem Cell Maintenance and Differentiation

Dr. Goldman's lab has discovered that ATP and ADP, acting through the P2Y receptor, can act as autocrine factors for the replication and self-renewal of neural stem cells. External addition of ATP or its analogs increases the mitotic index and rate of neural progenitor cells, whereas P2Y antagonists suppress both neurosphere expansion and the mitotic index of cells within those spheres.

From a research tool or manufacturing perspective, P2Y agonists can be used to maintain a population of neural stem cells in an undifferentitated, proliferating, self-renewing state. Purine receptor P2Y antagonists can be used to produce neurons and/or glial cells from a population of neural stem cells.

From a therapeutic standpoint, P2Y agonists can be used to treat a neurological disease or neurodegenerative condition in a subject, while antagonists can be used to treat a neoplastic disease of the brain or spinal cord in a subject.