A utoregulation is an important renal regulatory mechanism that provides an important protective role in glomerular hemodynamics. 1 The phenomenon of autoregulatory behavior has been recognized for many decades, but a clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in mediating resistance adjustments remains to be established. As illustrated in Figure 1, pressure-mediated autoregulatory behavior operates by recognizing a change in renal perfusion pressure, or renal vascular transmural pressure, and initiating induction of autoregulatory resistance changes intended to stabilize renal blood flow and/or glomerular filtration rate. The net result is that renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate remain relatively stable over a wide range of renal perfusion pressures. Autoregulatory behavior is exquisitely sensitive in healthy normal kidneys but significantly less efficient in pathological settings, such as diabetes mellitus and some forms of hypertension. Complete loss of autoregulatory control results in renal blood flow that behaves more passively, thus increasing variability and rendering flow more directly determined by renal perfusion pressure. 1,2 Whole kidney autoregulation reflects regulatory input from the myogenic and tubuloglomerular feedback mechanisms at the very least. [3][4][5][6][7] Recently, contributions of a third and possibly a fourth mechanism have been suggested. 6,7 Consequently, with continued study, the mechanisms underlying renal autoregulatory resistance adjustments are slowly becoming clearer. In addition to the P1 receptor hypothesis put forth to explain signal transduction for tubuloglomerular feedback-dependent resistance changes, we have explored the hypothesis that pressure-mediated autoregulatory responses are mediated by extracellular ATP and activation of P2X 1 receptors. 3,8,9 Conclusive identification of the signaling molecules that mediate autoregulation remains a point of debate, but it appears clear that the release of a purine-based moiety is required for autoregulatory adjustments in afferent arteriolar resistance. 3-5,8 -10 This review tries to focus on the new and current questions that need resolution regarding the P2 receptor hypothesis and how the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) system overlaps with those questions. For a more detailed discussion and review of the mechanisms of TGF and myogenic contributions to autoregulatory behavior, the reader is referred to several recent and excellent reviews that dwell more on the relative contributions of both systems to overall autoregulation.