The Story of the Rebels Who Caused a Revolution in the Land of Body - by Nomi Burnstock

A busy bee called ATP
Whose wings were full of energy,
Who worked and built inside a cell
Emerged to see what he could tell
To each and every other cell.
To run, to fly with friends and foes
To keep the body on its toes,
To tell of dangers, urgent needs,
Inspire each organ to heroic deeds.

Nora Drenalin, his female mate,
Flew around with him in a constant state.
Acetyl Colin was a frequent threat
And put them in a constant sweat.
And VIP came soon to see
Joined quickly then by 5-HT
Not far behind flew Substance P
And then came Nitric Oxide too
Too see what mischief he could do.
Adenosine, that flighty bird,
Although she'd lost her phosphate,
Insisted she was coming too
And off with all the rest she flew……

They hurried here, they scurried there
These rebels reached most everywhere
They flew to visit Heart and Lung
The vessels proved to be quite fun
Then Stomach, Gut and Bladder too
Could hardly wait to join the queue
But patiently they had to wait
For Uterus and Sperm, these friends
Together with Vas Deferens
Claimed first attention from these defectors
Providing them with fine receptors.

Now Brain looked on from up on high
And gave a long protracted sigh
‘I am the master of the land
Bring me the chief of this rebel band
When he has dined, and wined, reclined
I'll give him a piece of my mind.'

So ATP flew up to see
What Brain had got in mind.
‘Leave this to me young 5-HT
With Nitric Oxide and Substance P
Even good old VIP
You can stay behind.'
He took with him to make amends
Nora Drenalin and Acetyl Colin, his old time friends.

But sickness came to the land of Body
Even Brain began to lose his nerve.
Bladder lost his continence
And couldn't find it anywhere
Gut constricted. Gripe persisted
Pain objected loud and clear.
All the bloody vessels
Chose to tighten and complain
Causing high blood pressure
To say nothing of the pain
Of angina and migraine.

‘Listen to me' said ATP,
‘If you Brain have not become too addled.
Acetyl Colin and Nora Drenalin
Can no longer cope alone,
They need help and co-operation.
I'll call my merry band in on the phone.
We'll all work together
To keep this body well.
And if by chance we don't succeed
A drug company you can tell.'

They formed a club called Autonomic
Welcomed Brain as a friendly guest
Set out their plan to work together
A healthy Body their unified quest.

Then Roche came to help and Servier too
Helped establish the messenger system anew.
In health and disease
As you will see,
Adenosine and ATP,

With NO and 5-HT,
Worked in close collaboration
With Substance P and VIP.
Faithful Acetyl Colin and Nora D too
Rejoiced with the organs throughout Bodyland
For finding such a merry band.

ATP, that busy bee was pleased and happy as could be
For he'd completed well his mission:
Admitting Dale's principle and Burnstock's too
To the minefield of neurotransmission.

Nomi Burnstock