P2RX7 and central nervous system cancer: When expressed both in glioma cells and in glioma-infiltrating microglia, the P2X7 receptor mediates the release of pro-inflammatory factors, as monocyte inflammatory protein 1α (MIP-1α) (Fang et al., 2011), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) (Wei et al., 2008; Fang et al., 2011; Braganhol et al., 2015), IL-8 (Wei et al., 2008; Braganhol et al., 2015) and VEGF (Wei et al., 2008).