Journal of neurochemistry
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Journal of neurochemistry · Feb 2006
Hydrogen ion concentration differentiates effects of methamphetamine and dopamine on transporter-mediated efflux.
Methamphetamine (METH) causes release of stored intracellular dopamine (DA). We explored the interactions of METH with the recombinant human vesicular monoamine (hVMAT2) and/or human DA transporters (hDAT) in transfected mammalian (HEK293) cells and compared the findings with those for DA. In 'static' release assays at 37 degrees C, less than 20% of pre-loaded [(3)H]DA was lost after 60 min, while nearly 80% of pre-loaded [(3)H]METH was lost at 37 degrees C under non-stimulated conditions. ⋯ Increasing the extracellular pH from 7.4 to 8.6 had opposite effects on [(3)H]DA and [(3)H]METH retention. At pH 8.6, [(3)H]METH was retained more effectively by both hDAT and hDAT-hVMAT2 cells, compared with results obtained at extracellular pH 7.4. [(3)H]DA, however, was more effectively retained at pH 7.4 than at pH 8.6. These data suggest that DA and METH interact differently with the DAT and VMAT2, and require different H(+) concentrations to exert their effects.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Feb 2006
Comparative StudyExtracellular N-acetylaspartate depletion in traumatic brain injury.
N-Acetylaspartate (NAA) is almost exclusively localized in neurons in the adult brain and is present in high concentration in the CNS. It can be measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and is seen as a marker of neuronal damage and death. NMR spectroscopy and animal models have shown NAA depletion to occur in various types of chronic and acute brain injury. ⋯ Overall, extracellular NAA was 34% lower in non-survivors. A significant non-recoverable fall was observed in this group from day 4 onwards, with a concomitant rise in lactate-pyruvate ratio and glycerol. These results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a significant contributor to poor outcome following TBI and propose extracellular NAA as a potential marker for monitoring interventions aimed at preserving mitochondrial function.
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Journal of neurochemistry · Feb 2006
Comparative StudyGlia re-sealed particles freshly prepared from adult rat brain are competent for exocytotic release of glutamate.
Glial subcellular re-sealed particles (referred to as gliosomes here) were purified from rat cerebral cortex and investigated for their ability to release glutamate. Confocal microscopy showed that the glia-specific proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S-100, but not the neuronal proteins 95-kDa postsynaptic density protein (PSD-95), microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) and beta-tubulin III, were enriched in purified gliosomes. Furthermore, gliosomes exhibited labelling neither for integrin-alphaM nor for myelin basic protein, which are specific for microglia and oligodendrocytes respectively. ⋯ Moreover, GFAP or VAMP-2 co-expressed with the vesicular glutamate transporter type 1. Consistent with ultrastructural analysis, several approximately 30-nm non-clustered vesicles were present in the gliosome cytoplasm. It is concluded that gliosomes purified from adult brain contain glutamate-accumulating vesicles and can release the amino acid by a process resembling neuronal exocytosis.