The role of extracellular ATP in homeostatic immune cell migration

Antigen stimulation induces adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release from naïve lymphocytes in lymphoid tissues. However, previous studies indicated that the non-lytic release of ATP also occurs in most tissues and cell types under physiological conditions. Here, we show that extracellular ATP (eATP) is indeed constitutively produced by naïve T cells in response to lymphoid chemokines in uninflamed lymph nodes and is involved in the regulation of immune cell migration. In this review, we briefly summarize the homeostatic role of extracellular ATP in immune cell migration in vivo.