Skip to main content
Log in

An autoradiographic study of uptake of exogenous glycine by vertebrate spinal cord splicesin vitro

  • Published:
Journal of Neurocytology

Summary

Spinal cord slices from rat and goldfish were incubated with3H-glycine and3H-leucine. After fixation, the slices were examined by both light and electron microscopic autoradiography. Light microscopic autoradiograms showed, in slices incubated with3H-glycine, a high level of uptake at discretely localized sites in the ventral horn grey matter with particular concentrations around the perikarya of motor neurons. Electron microscopic autoradiograms revealed that glycine had been taken up by axon terminals containing ‘flat’ synaptic vesicles. There was no uptake into terminals containing ‘round’ vesicles. The spinal cord slices incubated with3H-leucine showed very low levels of radioactivity randomly scattered throughout the tissue.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aprison, M. H., Davidoff, R. H. andWerman, R. (1970) Glycine: its metabolic and possible transmitter roles in nervous tissue. InHandbook of Neurochemistry Vol. 3 (edited byLajtha, A.) pp. 381–97. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aprison, M. H. andWerman, R. (1965) The distribution of glycine in cat spinal cord and roots.Life Sciences 4, 2075–2085.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, F. E. andIversen, L. L. (1971) Localizing [3H]-GABA in nerve terminals of rat cerebral cortex by electron microscopic autoradiography.Nature (London) 229, 628–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, D. R. (1969) The pharmacology of spinal post-synaptic inhibition.Progress in Brain Research 31, 171–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, D. R., Hosli, L., Johnston, G. A. R. andJohnson, I. H. (1968a) The hyperpolarisation of spinal motorneurons by glycine and related amino-acids.Experimental Brain Research 5, 235–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curtis, D. R., Hosli, L. andJohnston, G. A. R. (1968b) A pharmacological study of the depression of spinal neurons by glycine and related amino-acids.Experimental Brain Research 6 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darken, M. H. (1964) Puromycin inhibition of protein synthesisPharmacological Reviews 16, 223–43.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davidoff, R. H., Graham, L. T., Shank, R. P., Werman, R. andAprison, M. H. (1967) Changes in amino acid concentrations associated with loss spinal interneurons.Journal of Neurochemistry 14, 1025–1031.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Descarries, L. andDroz, B. (1970) Intraneural distribution of exogenous norepinephrine in the central nervous system of the rat.Journal of Cell Biology 44, 385–99.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. C. (1969)The Inhibitory Pathways of the Central Nervous System p. 105, Liverpool: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edström, A. (1966) Amino acid incorporation in isolated Mauthner nerve fibre components.Journal of Neurochemistry 13, 315–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, E. G. (1969) Electron microscopy of excitatory and inhibitory synapses: a brief review.Progress in Brain Research 31, 141–55.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hökfelt, T. andLjungdahl, A. (1971) Light and electron microscopic autoradiography on spinal cord slices after incubation with labelled glycine.Brain Research 32, 189–94.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iversen, L. L. (1967)The Uptake and Storage of Noradrenaline in Sympathetic Nerves. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iversen, L. L. andNeal, M. J. (1968) The uptake of [3H]-GABA by slices of rate cerebral cortex.Journal of Neurochemistry 15, 1141–1149.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matus, A. I. andDennison, M. E. (1971) Autoradiographic localisation of tritiated glycine at ‘flat-vesicle’ synapses in spinal cord.Brain Research 32, 195–7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neal, M. J. (1971) The uptake of [14C]-glycine by slices of mammalian spinal cord.Journal of Physiology 215, 103–17.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neal, M. J. andPickles, H. (1969) Uptake of glycine by spinal cord.Nature (London) 223, 679–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pease, D. C. (1964)Histological Techniques for Electron Microscopy. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salpeter, M. M. andBachmann, L. (1965) Assessment of technical steps in electron microscope autoradiography. InThe Use of Radioautography in Investigating Protein Synthesis (edited byLeblond, C. P. andWarren, K. B.) pp. 231–41. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uchizono, K. (1965) Characteristics of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the central nervous system of the cat.Nature (London) 207, 642–3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werman, R., Davidoff, R. H. andAprison, M. H. (1968) Inhibitory actions of glycine on spinal neurons in the cat.Journal of Neurophysiology 31, 81–95.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. E., Axelrod, J., Potter, L. T. andRichardson, K. C. (1962) Localizing tritiated norepinephrine in sympathetic axons by electron microscope autoradiography.Science 138, 440–2.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Matus, A.I., Dennison, M.E. An autoradiographic study of uptake of exogenous glycine by vertebrate spinal cord splicesin vitro . J Neurocytol 1, 27–34 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01098643

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01098643

Keywords

Navigation