Summary
In a previous report (Hamase, K. et al., Biochim Biophys Acta 1134: 214–222 (1997)), we showed that the rat pineal gland contains D-leucine (D-Leu) as well as D-aspartic acid (D-Asp). In this communication we report alterations in the content of these D-amino acids during anesthesia. The D-Asp content was significantly increased from 2.8 to 5.0, 4.8 and 5.8 nmol/pineal gland by administration of ether, urethane and pentobarbital, respectively. In contrast, the D-Leu content was decreased by administration of urethane or pentobarbital. The D-Leu content decreased from 4.2 to 2.2 pmol/pineal gland 4 hours after administration of urethane, although the content remained unchanged until 1.5 hours after administration. The content of the L-enantiomers of these amino acids were not affected by anesthesia. The urethane-induced decrease in D-leucine content was almost completely suppressed by aβ-agonist, (-)-isoproterenol, whereas the agonist itself had no effect.
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Hamase, K., Homma, H., Takigawa, Y. et al. Alteration in the D-amino acid content of the rat pineal gland under anesthesia. Amino Acids 17, 277–283 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01366926
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01366926