Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide consisting of a purine base (adenine) attached to the first carbon atom of ribose (a pentose sugar). Three phosphate groups are esterified at the fifth carbon atom of the ribose. ATP is incorporated into nucleic acids by polymerases in the processes of DNA replication and transcription. ATP contributes to cellular energy charge and participates in overall energy balance, maintaining cellular homeostasis. ATP can act as an extracellular signaling molecule via interactions with specific purinergic receptors to mediate a wide variety of processes as diverse as neurotransmission, inflammation, apoptosis, and bone remodelling. Extracellular ATP and its metabolite adenosine have also been shown to exert a variety of effects on nearly every cell type in human skin, and ATP seems to play a direct role in triggering skin inflammatory, regenerative, and fibrotic responses to mechanical injury, an indirect role in melanocyte proliferation and apoptosis

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