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Postmortem- and cryostability of the potassium-evoked release of [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine from rat cerebral cortical miniprisms

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Summary

A prerequisite for the study of neurotransmitter release from human brain autopsy samples with histories of different diseases is that the cryo- and postmortem stability of the release process is good. In the present study, the effect of post-mortem delay and of storage at −70 °C by the “slow freeze — fast thaw” method of Hardy et al. [J Neurochem (1983) 40: 608–614] (which allows for the retention of metabolic activity of the tissue after the storage and thawing) of rat cerebral cortex samples upon the release of [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine ([3H]5-HT) from prelabelled miniprisms has been investigated. Storage of samples at −70 °C by this method resulted in samples that accumulated less [3H]5-HT but showed an increased sensitivity to the Ca2+-dependent releasing properties of K+ when compared with “fresh” samples. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the K+-evoked release to the inhibitory effects of the serotoninergic agonist 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine were reduced by storage. The effects on [3H]5-HT accumulation and on K+-evoked release were due mainly to the freeze-thaw procedure, the length of storage at −70 °C having only a minor influence on these parameters. A post-mortem interval of 5 hours at either +4 or +22°C prior to storage of the tissue reduced the K+-evoked release of tritium, but did not affect the accumulation of [3H]5-HT or the inhibitory effects of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine on the K+-evoked release over and above the effects produced by the storageper se.

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  1. C. J. Fowler

    Present address: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge Sjukhus, Huddinge

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research and Development Laboratories, Astra Alab AB, Södertälje, Sweden

    C. J. Fowler, G. Thorell & I. Fagervall

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  1. C. J. Fowler
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  2. G. Thorell
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  3. I. Fagervall
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Fowler, C.J., Thorell, G. & Fagervall, I. Postmortem- and cryostability of the potassium-evoked release of [3H]5-hydroxytryptamine from rat cerebral cortical miniprisms. J. Neural Transmission 75, 135–148 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01677427

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01677427

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