Purines, that is, adenosine and ATP, are not only products of metabolism but are also neurotransmitters. Indeed, purinergic neurotransmission is involved in thermoregulatory processes that occur during normoxia. Exposure to severe hypoxia elicits a sharp decrease in body core temperature (T(CO)), and adenosinergic mechanisms have been suspected to be responsible for this hypothermia. Because ATP per se and its metabolite adenosine could have complex interactions in some neural networks, we hypothesize that both adenosine and ATP are involved in the central mechanism of hypoxia-induced hypothermia. Their role in the thermoregulatory process was therefore investigated in a 24-h hypobaric hypoxia (Fi(O2) = 10%), using CGS-15943, a nonselective antagonist of adenosine receptors, and suramin, an ATP receptor antagonist. T(CO) and spontaneous activity (A(S)) were monitored by telemetry in conscious rats, receiving CGS-15943 (10 mg/kg ip), suramin (7 nmol icv), or both. The same treatments were done in normoxia to evaluate the specificity of their thermoregulatory action observed in hypoxia. Suramin/CGS-15943 treatment blunted the profound hypothermia observed in control rats throughout the hypoxia exposure, whereas CGS-15943 treatment blunted hypothermia during only 3 h, and suramin treatment had no effect. These results suggest that suramin potentiates the CGS-15943 effects and consequently that adenosine and ATP signaling act in synergy. In normoxia, suramin/CGS-15943 induced an increase in T(CO) but to a far lesser extent than observed in hypoxia. Thus it might be suggested that the suramin/CGS-15943 blunting of hypoxia-induced hypothermia would be specific to hypoxia-induced mechanisms.