Abstract
The possible role of taurine in synapses—an inhibitory transmitter or modulator—is not yet settled (Oja et al., 1977; Oja and Kontro, 1978). To be able to participate in synaptic transmission, taurine must be present and preferably enriched in the synaptic structures. At least isolated synaptosomes contain appreciable amounts of other putative amino acid neurotransmitters (Sellström et al., 1975; Osborne et al., 1976), but no unanimity obtains with regard to synaptic vesicles. Some workers dispute the existence of any significant amounts of amino acids (Mangan and Whittaker, 1966; Rassin, 1972), whereas some others report the presence of a number of amino acids, including taurine, in synaptic vesicles isolated from the cerebral cortices (De Belleroche and Bradford, 1973; Lähdesmäki et al., 1977). Here we have systematically gauged the amino acid patterns of synaptosomes and synaptic vesicles of functionally different brain areas, using a sensitive amino acid analyzer with good resolution properties. Furthermore, particular care was taken in our analyses to separate taurine reliably from other interfering ninhydrin-positive compounds.
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Oja, S.S., Marnela, KM., Kontro, P. (1981). Enrichment of Taurine in Synaptosomes and Synaptic Vesicles of Bovine Brain Regions. In: Schaffer, S.W., Baskin, S.I., Kocsis, J.J. (eds) The Effects of Taurine on Excitable Tissues. Monographs of the Physiological Society of Philadelphia, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8093-8_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8093-8_11
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