Arachidonic Acid Inhibits Choline Uptake and Depletes Acetylcholine Content in Rat Cerebral Cortical Synaptosomes

The effects of arachidonic acid on [3H]choline uptake, on [3H]acetylcholine accumulation, and on endogenous acetylcholine content and release in rat cerebral cortical synaptosomes were investigated. Arachidonic acid (10-150 microM) produced a dose-dependent inhibition of high-affinity [3H]choline uptake. Low-affinity [3H]choline uptake was also inhibited by arachidonic acid. Fatty acids inhibited high-affinity [3H]choline uptake with the following order of potency: arachidonic greater than palmitoleic greater than oleic greater than lauric; stearic acid (up to 150 microM) had no effect. Inhibition of [3H]choline uptake by arachidonic acid was reversed by bovine serum albumin. In the presence of arachidonic acid, there was an increased accumulation of choline in the medium, but this did not account for the inhibition of [3H]choline uptake produced by the fatty acid. Arachidonic acid inhibited the synthesis of [3H]acetylcholine from [3H]choline, and this inhibition was equal in magnitude to the inhibition of high-affinity [3H]choline uptake produced by the fatty acid. A K+-stimulated increase in [3H]acetylcholine synthesis was inhibited completely by arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid also depleted endogenous acetylcholine stores. Concentrations of arachidonic acid and hemicholinium-3 that produced equivalent inhibition of [3H]choline uptake also produced equivalent depletion of acetylcholine content. In the presence of eserine, arachidonic acid had no effect on acetylcholine release. The results suggest that arachidonic acid may deplete acetylcholine content by inhibiting high-affinity choline uptake and subsequent acetylcholine synthesis. This raises the possibility that arachidonic acid may play a role in the impairment of cholinergic transmission seen in cerebral ischemia and other conditions in which large amounts of the free fatty acid are released in brain.     

Acetylcholine Incorporation by Cholinergic Synaptic Vesicles from Torpedo marmorata

[3H]Acetylcholine efflux and Na+-K+ ATPase ion pump activity were measured concomitantly in rat cortical synaptosomes. Ouabain (500 microM), strophanthidin (500 microM), and parachloromercuribenzene sulfonate (500 microM) each inhibited ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake and elevated [3H]acetylcholine release independently of the external calcium concentration. Veratridine (10 microM), electrical field stimulation (60 V, 60 Hz, 5-ms pulse duration), or the calcium ionophore A23187 (10 micrograms/ml) also inhibited ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake and released [3H]acetylcholine, but via a calcium-dependent process. Veratridine-induced [3H]acetylcholine release and ion pump inhibition were correlated over a wide range of drug concentrations and both effects were blocked by pre-treatment with tetrodotoxin (1 microM). The rate of [3H]acetylcholine efflux from superfused synaptosomes was increased within 15 s of exposure to ouabain, strophanthidin, veratridine, A23187, or field stimulation, while ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake was significantly decreased within a similar interval. These results suggest that [3H]acetylcholine release is due at least in part to inhibition of Na+-K+ ATPase.     

Antibodies directed against ubiquitin inhibit high affinity [3H]choline uptake in rat cerebral cortical synaptosomes

Sodium-dependent [3H]choline uptake and coupled [3H]acetylcholine synthesis were inhibited in rat cerebral cortical synaptosomes in a dose- (1-10 micrograms/ml) and time-dependent manner by affinity-purified antibodies directed against ubiquitin (anti-Ub). Neither sodium-independent [3H]choline uptake nor [3H]acetylcholine release was affected by up to 10 micrograms/ml anti-Ub, indicating that the cholinergic terminals were not depolarized by the anti-Ub. Binding of anti-Ub to synaptosomes, as measured with 125I-protein A, was saturable and occurred over the same concentration range (1-10 micrograms/ml) at which uptake inhibition was observed. Although preimmune IgG bound to the synaptosome preparation to a greater extent and was apparently not readily saturable, this fortuitous binding was without effect on high affinity choline uptake and conversion to acetylcholine. The results suggest the presence of a ubiquitin-protein conjugate on the synaptosomal surface and a functional relationship between this protein conjugate and the sodium-dependent choline transport system.     

Effects of Nucleus Basalis Lesions on the Muscarinic and Nicotinic Modulation of [3H] Acetylcholine Release in the Rat Cerebral Cortex

Presynaptic muscarinic and nicotinic receptors in the cerebral cortex reportedly inhibit and increase acetylcholine (ACh) release, respectively. In this study, we investigated whether these receptors reside on cholinergic nerve terminals projecting to the cerebral cortex from the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm). Adult male rats received unilateral infusions of ibotenic acid (5 micrograms/1 microliter) in the nbm. Two weeks later, cerebral cortical cholinergic markers (choline acetyltransferase activity, high-affinity choline uptake, and coupled ACh synthesis) were significantly reduced in synaptosomes prepared from the lesioned hemispheres compared to contralateral controls. The depolarization-induced release of [3H]ACh from these synaptosomes was also reduced in the lesioned hemispheres, reflecting the reduced synthesis of transmitter. However, the nbm lesions had no effect on the inhibition of release induced by 100 microM oxotremorine. Synaptosomal [3H]ACh release was not altered by nicotine or the nicotinic agonists anabaseine and 2-(3-pyridyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine. Nicotine (10-100 microM) did increase [3H]ACh release in control and lesioned hemispheres in cortical minces, but to a similar extent. These results suggest that neither muscarinic nor nicotinic receptors modulating ACh release reside on nbm-cholinergic terminals.     

Effects of Acetylethylcholine Mustard on [3H]Quinuclidinyl Benzilate Binding and Acetylcholine Release in Rat Brain Synaptosomes

The effects of acetylethylcholine mustard and its aziridinium derivative (AMMA) on acetylcholine (ACh) release and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) binding were studied in rat cortical synaptosomes. After incubation for 5 min at 37 degrees C, AMMA reduced [3H]QNB binding with an IC50 of 9 microM. Following incubation for 5 min with 50 microM AMMA and washing, there was a 62% reduction in the [3H]QNB binding capacity with no change in the KD value for the remaining receptors, a result indicating the irreversibility of the AMMA binding. AMMA and oxotremorine both reduced the basal and 30 mM K+-induced release of newly synthesized [3H]ACh in dose-dependent manners over a 2.5-min period. At identical 50 microM concentrations, AMMA produced a much longer inhibition of basal [3H]ACh release than oxotremorine did. The inhibition of basal and 30 mM K+-induced [3H]ACh release by AMMA (10-250 microM) was blocked by 2 microM atropine during a 2.5-min release incubation, but not during a 30-min release incubation. After synaptosomes were treated with 50 microM AMMA for 5 min and the unbound drug was washed out from the tissue, [3H]ACh release (basal and K+-induced) was reduced. AMMA (50 microM) reduced high-affinity choline uptake and ACh synthesis by greater than 90% in this tissue, but these effects did not account for the [3H]ACh release inhibition, because they were not atropine sensitive and hemicholinium-3 had no effect on [3H]ACh release under the conditions used in these studies, i.e., after extracellular [3H]choline was washed out. Taken together, these results suggest that AMMA may be an irreversible agonist at presynaptic muscarinic autoreceptors.     

Effects of choline augmentation on acetylcholine synthesis and release in rat atrial minces

The uptake and acetylation of [3H]-choline, as well as the calcium-dependent release of a newly synthesized [3H]-ACh, was studied in a new rat atrial mince preparation. The hemicholinium-3-sensitive uptake and acetylation of [3H]-choline increased as [3H]-choline concentrations were elevated to 100 microM in atrial minces. In contrast, hemicholinium-3-sensitive [3H]-choline uptake was saturated with 15 microM [3H]-choline in brain synaptosomes. The increased atrial [3H]-ACh synthesized in the presence of [3H]-choline augmentation was releasable by 50 mM K+-depolarization in a 1 mM cobalt-sensitive manner. These results suggest that atrial parasympathetic activity may be more sensitive to circulating choline concentrations than brain cholinergic neurons are.     

Nicotinic Stimulation of [3H]Acetylcholine Release from Mouse Cerebral Cortical Synaptosomes

The effects of nicotine and 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium (DMPP) on the release of newly synthesized [3H]acetylcholine in mouse cerebral cortical synaptosomes were examined. Nicotine and DMPP produced increases in [3H]acetylcholine release, over the level of spontaneous release, of 24% and 30%, respectively, of a maximum depolarization-induced release produced by 50 mM potassium. The maximum effect was achieved at a concentration of 1 X 10(-4) M for both agents. The time course of release indicated a slow onset of action, reaching a maximum effect at 15 min of incubation. Both nicotine and DMPP also produced a slightly greater release of total tritium, measured in the absence of cholinesterase inhibition, than of [3H]acetylcholine. The release induced by nicotine was completely antagonized by hexamethonium and was largely (58%) calcium-dependent. Nicotine also produced an increase in [3H]choline accumulation into synaptosomes. These results indicate that the nicotinic agonists nicotine and DMPP can produce a moderate enhancement of acetylcholine release by a receptor-mediated action on cholinergic nerve terminals in the central nervous system.     

Acetylcholine Synthesis by Adult Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Cell Cultures

Adrenal chromaffin cells normally synthesize and release catecholamines. In the present study, [3H]acetylcholine synthesis and another characteristic of cholinergic neurons, [3H]choline uptake, were studied in cultures of adult bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. Chromaffin cell cultures took up [3H]choline from the medium and acetylated the [3H]choline to form [3H]acetylcholine. The rate of [3H]acetylcholine synthesis increased after 19 days in culture and continued to increase up to 28 days in culture. [3H]Acetylcholine synthesis could be increased by stimulating the cells with a depolarizing concentration of K+. The ability for K+ to stimulate synthesis of [3H]acetylcholine developed only after 28 days in culture. [3H]Choline was taken up by the cultures through a single mechanism with a high (to intermediate) affinity for choline. [3H]Choline uptake was enhanced by Na+ omission in day-14 cultures, but was at least partially Na+-dependent in day-29 cultures. Hemicholinium-3 (IC50 less than 10 muM) inhibited [3H]choline uptake into chromaffin cell cultures. It is concluded that bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, maintained in culture, are able to exhibit cholinergic properties and this capacity is retained even by the mature adult cell.     

Effect of Adenosine, Adenosine Derivatives, and Caffeine on Acetylcholine Release from Brain Synaptosomes: Interaction with Muscarinic Autoregulatory Mechanisms

Synaptosomes, prepared from rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus, were preincubated with [methyl-3H]choline. The effect of adenosine, cyclohexyladenosine, N-ethylcarboxamide adenosine, 2'-deoxyadenosine, and oxotremorine on K+-evoked 3H efflux was investigated. High-voltage electrophoretic separation showed that in the presence of physostigmine, the K+-evoked 3H efflux from hippocampal synaptosomes was 90% [3H]acetylcholine and 10% [3H]choline. Adenosine (30 microM) and oxotremorine (100 microM) both decreased [3H]acetylcholine release from hippocampal synaptosomes. The effect was inversely proportional to the KCl concentration and disappeared at a KCl concentration of 50 mM. Cyclohexyladenosine was approximately 3,000 times more active than adenosine, whereas N-ethylcarboxamide adenosine and 2'-deoxyadenosine were inactive. This indicates that A1 adenosine receptors were involved in the inhibitory effect. Caffeine antagonized the adenosine effect, and at a concentration of 100 microM, it stimulated [3H]acetylcholine efflux. The inhibitory effect of oxotremorine was as great in cortical as in hippocampal synaptosomes. In contrast, adenosine was much less active in cortical than in hippocampal synaptosomes. When inhibitory concentrations of adenosine and oxotremorine were added together into the incubation medium, the effect of adenosine on [3H]acetylcholine release was consistently reduced. An interaction between muscarinic and A1 adenosine presynaptic receptors at a common site modulating acetylcholine release can be assumed.     

The characterization of a sodium-dependent high affinity choline uptake system unassociated with acetylcholine biosynthesis

The cardiac ganglion of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, was incubated in Chao's solution containing 0.01 microM [3H]choline at room temperature (25 +/- 2 degrees C) and the ganglion readily accumulated the radiolabel. The ganglion uptake of [3H]choline was linear over 60 min. Kinetic analysis revealed dual choline uptake systems within the cardiac ganglion, a high affinity uptake system (Km = 2.2 microM, Vmax = 0.16 pmoles/mg/min) and a low affinity system (Km = 92.3 microM, Vmax = 3.08 pmoles/mg/min). The high affinity uptake system was sodium-dependent and inhibited by micromolar concentrations of hemicholinium-3. A 15 min pre-exposure of the ganglion to Chao's solution containing 90 mM potassium stimulated a significant increase in choline uptake. There was no detectable synthesis of [3H]acetylcholine from the [3H]choline taken up by the cardiac ganglion. The major portion of the extractable label appeared in a fraction which co-electrophoresed with phosphorylcholine. These results suggest that the sodium-dependent high affinity [3H]choline uptake system of the cardiac ganglion subserves a specific requirement for choline which is unrelated to a cholinergic function.     

THE RELEASE IN VIVO OF [3H]ACETYLCHOLINE FROM CAT CAUDATE NUCLEUS AND CEREBRAL CORTEX BY ATROPINE, PENTYLENETETRAZOL, K+-DEPOLARIZATION AND ELECTRICAL STIMULATION

Abstract— In the present experiments, the resting and stimulus evoked release of newly synthesized [³H]acetylcholine from the caudate nucleus, the cerebral cortex and the cerebellar cortex into the perfusate of the push-pull cannula was studied in the unanesthetized, midpontine, pretrigeminally transected cat following infusion at the push-pull site of [³H]choline. Separation of the metabolites in the perfusate revealed that after 20 min, approximately 20% of the recovered radioactivity in the sample was in a lipid fraction, about 10% was found to be phosphorylcholine and around 3% was observed to be incorporated into acetylcholine. The rest of the recovered radioactivity remained as choline. Electrical stimulation applied directly to the caudate nucleus, local potassium depolarization, atropine and pentylenetetrazol were all observed to result in a significant and stimulus dependent increase in the levels of [³H]acetyIchoIine, but not [³H]choline or [¹⁴C]urea in the effluent of the push-pull cannula located in the caudate nucleus. A similar release of newly synthesized [³H]acetylcholine was observed following atropine and potassium stimulation in the cerebral but not the cerebellar cortex. The specificity of this evoked increase in the levels of [³H]acetylchoiine is substantiated by obtaining the release with stimuli having different modes of action, by the absence of stimulus evoked changes in the levels of other water-soluble elements found in the perfusate and by the absence of an observable release of [³H]acetylcholine in perfusion experiments involving the cerebellum, a tissue not thought to have strong cholinergic innervation. The percentage increases in release of [³H] acetylcholine over baseline levels evoked by the various methods closely corresponded to those reported in the literature for authentic acetylcholine. This was taken to suggest that the neuronal pools containing endogenous acetylcholine and those containing newly synthesized acetylcholine, if not identical, were disposed to behave in the same manner following the activation of the synapse.     

The Independency of Choline Transport and Acetylcholine Synthesis

The coupling of choline transport to acetylcholine synthesis has been investigated by measurement of the isotopic dilution of a pulse of [3H]choline during its incorporation into the recently synthesised acetylcholine of cerebral cortex synaptosomes. Recently synthesised acetylcholine was identified as that containing 14C-labelled precursors introduced by a preincubation before the pulse. When [14C]glucose was used to label acetyl-CoA coupling ratios (calculated as the inverse of the dilution of extracellular [3H]choline during its incorporation into [3H]acetylcholine) of about 0.05-0.2 were found at a choline concentration of 1 microM, rising to 0.5 at choline concentrations of 10-50 microM. Experiments using [14C]choline as a precursor gave similar results, and it was shown that the isotopic dilution did not occur extrasynaptosomally and was not affected by low glucose concentrations. Coupling ratios were always less than unity and rose as the choline concentration increased. It is concluded that choline transported into the nerve terminal has no privileged access to choline acetyltransferase. The results can be explained by a rate-controlling transport of choline into the terminal followed by its rapid acetylation rather than any linkage or coupling of the two processes.     

Negative Effects of Tacrine (Tetrahydroaminoacridine) and Methoxytacrine on the Metabolism of Acetylcholine in Brain Slices Incubated Under Conditions Stimulating Neurotransmitter Release

The effects of tacrine (1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminoacridine) and 7-methoxytacrine on the metabolism of brain acetylcholine were investigated in experiments in which acetylcholine turnover was stimulated by tissue depolarization or by 4-aminopyridine. Rat cerebrocortical prisms were preincubated under "resting" conditions (Krebs-Ringer buffer with 3 mmol/L K+ and with paraoxon to inhibit cholinesterases) and then incubated in the presence of tacrine or methoxytacrine and of 50 mmol/L K+. Both drugs diminished the amount of acetylcholine released by depolarization and the amount of acetylcholine synthesized during incubation; in experiments in which [14C]choline was present in the incubation medium simultaneously with tacrine or methoxytacrine, the drugs diminished the uptake of [14C]choline by the tissue and the amount of [14C]-acetylcholine synthesized and released into the medium. In these experiments, it was not possible to distinguish whether the inhibitory effects of tacrine and methoxytacrine were primarily on the process of acetylcholine synthesis (particularly on the uptake of choline), or whether the drugs also acted directly on the process of neurotransmitter release. In subsequent experiments the prisms were preincubated with [14C]choline and only then subjected to a short depolarization in the presence of hemicholinium-3 and tacrine or methoxytacrine. Both drugs severely inhibited the release of preformed [14C]acetylcholine and prevented the diminution of tissue [14C]acetylcholine stores. Methoxytacrine was also found to diminish the release of acetylcholine induced by 4-aminopyridine while increasing the content of acetylcholine in the tissue. Tacrine and methoxytacrine had no effect on the activity of choline acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Biochemical evidence that acetylcholine release from cholinergic nerve terminals is mostly vesicular

The nature of the intraterminal compartments from which acetylcholine (ACh) is released following presynaptic stimulation was investigated. This was pursued by examining the effects of the anticholinergic drug 2-(4-phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (AH5183) on the release of newly synthesized [3H]ACh and of endogenous ACh from purified cholinergic nerve terminals (synaptosomes) which were isolated from the electric organs of Torpedo. Preincubation of the synaptosomes, with AH5183 (1-10 microM), does not affect either the intraterminal synthesis of [3H]ACh or the uptake of its precursors, but results in a marked inhibition (85%) of the release of the newly synthesized [3H]ACh. However, when AH5183 is added following the accumulation of [3H]ACh in the nerve terminals, it does not affect [3H]ACh release. AH5183 also has no effect on the release of preformed endogenous ACh. These findings, together with the previous in vitro demonstrations that AH5183 is a potent inhibitor of ACh uptake into isolated cholinergic vesicles, suggest that most of the synaptosomal ACh is secreted by a vesicular mechanism.     

Ubiquitin-Directed Antibodies Inhibit Neuronal Transporters in Rat Brain Synaptosomes

Affinity-purified antibodies specific for ubiquitin were found to inhibit the sodium-dependent uptake of [3H]choline, gamma-[3H]aminobutyric acid [( 3H]GABA), [3H]glutamate, [3H]norepinephrine, [3H]aspartate, and [3H]serotonin in rat cerebral cortical synaptosomes at a low concentration (10 micrograms/ml). These antibodies (termed anti-Ub) had no effect on the sodium-independent uptake of these substances or their calcium-dependent efflux. Synaptosomal [3H]deoxyglucose uptake was not affected in normal Krebs Ringer buffer containing 10 mM glucose, but was inhibited in glucose-free medium. Other nonneuronal sodium-dependent transport processes were found to be unaffected by 10 micrograms/ml anti-Ub, suggesting that anti-Ub does not bind indiscriminantly to sodium-binding sites on sodium-dependent organic solute transporters. Finally, anti-Ub inhibited sodium-dependent [3H]GABA and [3H]glutamate uptake in plasma membrane ghosts, devoid of membrane potential, which were derived from rat cerebral cortical synaptosomes. These results suggest that neuronal transporters or sites proximal to them may be ubiquitinylated on the plasma membrane surface.     

Autoradiographic identification of acetylcholine in the rabbit retina

Rabbit retinas were studied in vitro under conditions known to maintain their physiological function. Retinas incubated in the presence of [3H]choline synthesized substantial amounts of both [3H]phosphorylcholine and [3H]acetylcholine. With time, [3H]phosphorylcholine proceeded into phospholipids, primarily phosphatidylcholine. Retinas pulse-labeled by a 15-min exposure to 0.3 microM [3H]choline were incubated for a subsequent hour under chase conditions designed either to retain newly synthesized acetylcholine within synapses or to promote its release. At the end of this time the two groups of retinas were found to contain equal amounts of radioactivity in the phospholipid pathway, but only the retinas incubated under the acetylcholine-protecting conditions contained [3H]acetylcholine. Freeze-dried, vacuum-embedded tissue from each retina was autoradiographed on dry emulsion. All retinas showed silver grains over the photoreceptor cells and faint labeling of all ganglion cells. In the retinas that contained [3H]acetylcholine, silver grains also accumulated densely over a few cells with the position of amacrine cells, over a subset of the cells of the ganglion cell layer, and in two bands over the inner plexiform layer. Fixation of the retina with aqueous osmium tetroxide retained only the radioactive compounds located in the photoreceptor and ganglion cells. Sections from freeze-dried tissue lost their water-soluble choline metabolites when exposed to water, and autoradiography of such sections again revealed radioactivity primarily in the photoreceptor and ganglion cells. Radioactive compounds extracted from the sections were found to faithfully reflect those present in the tissue before processing; analysis of the compounds eluted from sections microdissected along the outer plexiform layer showed [3H]acetylcholine to have been synthesized only by cells of the inner retina. Taken together, these results indicate that the photoreceptor and ganglion cells are distinguished by a rapid synthesis of choline-containing phospholipids, while acetylcholine synthesis is restricted to a few cells at both margins of the inner plexiform layer. They imply that the only neurons to release acetylcholine within the rabbit retina are a small group of probable amacrine cells.     

Calcium-dependent [3H]acetylcholine release and muscarinic autoreceptors in rat cortical synaptosomes during development

A number of presynaptic cholinergic parameters (high affinity [³H]choline uptake, [³H]acetylcholine synthesis, [³H]acetylcholine release, and autoinhibition of [³H]acetylcholine release mediated by muscarinic autoreceptors) were comparatively analyzed in rat brain cortex synaptosomes during postnatal development. These various functions showed a differential time course during development. At 10 days of age the release of [³H]acetylcholine evoked by 15 mM KCl from superfused synaptosomes was Ca²⁺-dependent but insensitive to the inhibitory action of extrasynaptosomal acetylcholine. The muscarinic autoreceptors regulating acetylcholine release were clearly detectable only at 14 days, indicating that their appearance may represent a criterion of synaptic maturation more valuable than the onset of a Ca²⁺-dependent release.     

Actions of a monoclonal antibody Tor 23 on rat brain presynaptic cholinergic processes

Tor 23 is a monoclonal antibody, generated against cholinergic terminals of theTorpedo californica, that has been found to bind to the extracellular surface of cholinergic neurons in a variety of tissues. This study shows that Tor 23 inhibits: 1) high affinity [³H]hemicholinium-3 binding to detergent-solubilized membranes prepared from rat neocortices; 2) high affinity [³H]choline uptake in rat neocortical and striatal P₂ preparations; and 3) [³H]acetylcholine synthesis in isolated nerve terminals. Tor 23 does not appear to affect low affinity [³H]choline uptake or [³H]acetylcholine release. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that Tor 23 may bind to nerve terminal high affinity choline transporters in the rat brain.     

Role of eicosanoids, inositol phosphates and extracellular Ca2+ in cell-volume regulation of rat liver

1. In isolated perfused rat liver, the time-course of volume-regulatory K+ efflux following exposure to hypoosmolar perfusate resembled the leukotriene-C4-induced K+ efflux in normotonic perfusion. Omission of Ca2+ from the perfusion fluid had no effect on volume-regulatory K+ efflux, but abolished completely the leukotriene-C4-induced K+ efflux. 2. Volume-regulatory K+ fluxes following hypoosmolar exposure (225 mOsmol l-1) and subsequent reexposure to normotonic media (305 mOsmol l-1) were not significantly affected by the cyclooxygenase inhibitors indomethacin (5 mumol l-1) or ibuprofen (50 mumol l-1), the leukotriene D4/C4-receptor antagonist 1-[2-hydroxy-3-propyl-4-[4-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)butoxy]phenyl]etha none (YL 171883, 50 microM), the lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (20 microM), the phospholipase-A2 inhibitor bromophenacyl bromide (50 microM) or the thromboxane-receptor antagonist 4-[2-(benzenesulfonamido)ethyl]-phenoxyacetic acid (BM 13.177, 20 microM). Also the effects of hypoosmotic cell swelling on lactate, pyruvate and glucose balance across the liver remained largely unaffected in presence of these inhibitors. Neither exposure of perfused rat liver to hypoosmolar (225 mOsmol l-1) nor to hyperosmolar (385 mOsmol l-1) perfusion media affected hepatic prostaglandin-D2 release. 3. When livers were 3H-labeled in vivo by an intraperitoneal injection of myo-[2-3H]inositol about 16 h prior to the perfusion experiment, cell swelling due to lowering the perfusate osmolarity from 305 mOsmol l-1 to 225 mOsmol l-1 led to about a threefold stimulation of [3H]inositol release. The maximum of hypotonicity-induced [3H]inositol release preceded maximal volume-regulatory K+ efflux by about 30 s, but came after the maximum of water shift into the cells. Hypotonicity-induced [3H]inositol release was largely prevented in presence of Li+ (10 mM), but simultaneously inositol monophosphate accumulated inside the liver within 10 min and a small, but significant increase of inositol trisphosphate 1 min after onset of hypoosmolar exposure was detectable. No stimulation of [3H]inositol release was observed during cell shrinkage by switching the perfusate osmolarity from 225 mOsmol l-1 to 305 mOsmol l-1 or from 305 mOsmol l-1 to 385 mOsmol l-1. No stimulation of [3H]inositol release was observed upon swelling of preshrunken livers by lowering the osmolarity from 385 mOsmol l-1 to 305 mOsmol l-1, although the volume-regulatory K+ efflux under these conditions was almost identical to that observed after lowering the osmolarity from 305 mOsmol l-1 to 225 mOsmol l-1. 4.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Choline Uptake and Metabolism in Affinity-Purified Cholinergic Nerve Terminals from Rat Brain

Cholinergic nerve terminals were affinity purified from rat caudate nucleus. These terminals possessed both high- (KT = 2.7 microM) and low- (KT = 58 microM) affinity uptake mechanisms for exogenous [3H]choline. The proportion of [3H]choline acetylated was reduced from 75 to 30% under conditions of anoxia and hypoglycaemia, whereas the phosphorylation of choline increased from 4 to 52%. Choline phosphorylation was also increased when the terminals were preloaded with choline. The affinity-purified terminals were shown to release acetylcholine in a Ca2+-dependent manner on depolarization. The relationship between choline acetylation and phosphorylation in the cholinergic nerve terminal is discussed.