Abstract
At least two of the excitatory afferent pathways in the hippocampal formation, the Schaffer collaterals which extend from the CA3 to CA1 pyramidal cells and the perforant path from the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus, are believed to use glutamate as their transmitter1–5. A third, the commissural pathway, which projects from the CA3/CA4 pyramidals to the contralateral CA1 and dentate areas, may be aspartergic6. The excitatory transmitter of the remaining afferent pathway, the mossy fibre projection, is as yet unidentified, but there is no evidence that it is either glutamate or aspartate6,7. Despite the obvious importance of excitatory amino acid transmitters in hippocampal function, no evidence of an interaction between these neurotransmitters, such as presynaptic control of release, has been described. Here we report that L-glutamate and several neuroactive analogues inhibit the calcium-dependent, K+-evoked release of D-[3H]aspartate from mini-slices of rat hippocampus. This effect was abolished by selective amino acid antagonists and, as it was tetrodotoxin (TTX) insensitive, the effect may be mediated through presynaptic glutamate auto-receptors.
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McBean, G., Roberts, P. Glutamate-preferring receptors regulate the release of D-[3H]aspartate from rat hippocampal slices. Nature 291, 593–594 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/291593a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/291593a0
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