1 Neuroscience Division, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
2 Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China

Abstract 

The recent demonstration of proton signaling in C. elegans muscle contraction suggests a novel mechanism for proton-based intercellular communication and has stimulated enthusiasm for exploring proton signaling in higher organ-isms. Emerging evidence indicates that protons are produced and regulated in localized space and time. Furthermore， identification of proton regulators and sensors in the brain leads to the speculation that proton production and regulation may be of major importance for both physiological and pathological functions ranging from nociception to learning and memory. Extracellular protons may play a role in signal transmission by not only acting on adjacent cells but also affecting the cell from which they were released. In this review， we summarize the upstream and downstream pathways of proton production and regulation in the mammalian brain， with special emphasis on the proton extruders and sensors that are critical in the homeostatic regulation of pH， and discuss their potential roles in proton signaling under normal and pathophysiological conditions.

Keywords

proton extruders; proton sensors; pH homeostasis; proton signaling; pH microdomains; local accumulation

[SpringerLink]