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Release of Amino Acids from the Spinal Cord in Vitro and in Vivo

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Transport Phenomena in the Nervous System

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 69))

Abstract

In the last decade, considerable evidence has supported the initial suggestion by Aprison and Werman2 that glycine is a likely inhibitory transmitter in the mammalian spinal cord. The concentration of glycine becomes progressively higher in more caudal areas of the nervous system and it is particularly high, on the order of 5 µmoles/gram, in regions of spinal cord known to contain inhibitory interneurons. The concentration falls after partial spinal cord ischemia in a manner proportional to the loss of interneurons. 12 The action of glycine is antagonized by strychnine, which is known to block postsynaptic inhibitory mechanisms.5 There is reason to believe that other amino acids may have roles as neurotransmitters in the spinal cord, based on less complete evidence than that for glycine. For example, GABA has been proposed as a presynaptic inhibitory transmitter at primary afferent terminals. It is found in high concentrations in the dorsal horn, and local ischemia of this region leads to a marked fall in concentration.23 Deafferentation of the spinal cord by dorsal root section leads to a reduction in glutamic acid decarboxylase activity in the dorsal lateral region of cord, together with a fall in GABA content and a reduction of [3H] GABA uptake.14

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Stanford University Medical Center, 94305, Stanford, California, USA

    Robert W. P. Cutler

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  1. Robert W. P. Cutler
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council, Rome, Italy

    Giulio Levi

  2. University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

    Leontino Battistin

  3. Research Institute of Neurochemistry, New York, New York, USA

    Abel Lajtha

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© 1976 Plenum Press, New York

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Cutler, R.W.P. (1976). Release of Amino Acids from the Spinal Cord in Vitro and in Vivo. In: Levi, G., Battistin, L., Lajtha, A. (eds) Transport Phenomena in the Nervous System. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 69. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3264-0_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3264-0_32

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