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Do snail neurones contain more than one neurotransmitter?

Nature volume 270, pages 622–623 (1977)Cite this article

Abstract

THE 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) present in the giant neurone in each metacerebral ganglion (GSC) of the snail, Helix pomatia, is probably a transmitter1–3. The neurone also contains acetylcholine4, a putative transmitter and its synthesising enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (Ch.Ac., EC 2.3.1.6) (ref. 5). These observations, together with a report showing multiple putative transmitter substances in certain Aplysia neurones6, have resulted in several challenges2,6,7 of the validity of Dale's hypothesis that each neurone contains and releases only one transmitter. The GSC is found in other gastropods, in every case containing 5-HT (refs 9,10); there is high Ch.Ac. activity in Helix5, but in Aplysia the enzyme is absent11 or present in trace amounts8. All previous work on Helix neurones has been carried out on hand-dissected GSCs, and so contamination from glial and other small neurones must always be considered (see ref. 12). If a neurone is considered to be spherical, a slight increase in the radius would result in a substantial volume of substance being trapped between the neuronal membrane and the contaminating membrane. The isolation process is thus of critical importance. I have reanalysed the neurone for a spectrum of transmitters to investigate whether the GSCs can synthesise ‘common’ transmitter substances. A neurone-designated cell 212,5,13, situated on the posterior–dorsal surface of the visceral ganglia and known to contain high levels of Ch.Ac. was also examined for comparison. I show that the GSC contains only 5-HT, with no significant Ch.Ac., and that it also contains trace amounts of dopamine and histamine.

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  1. Max-Planck Institut für experimentelle Medizin, Forschungsstelle Neurochemie, 3400, Göttingen, FRG

    NEVILLE N. OSBORNE

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OSBORNE, N. Do snail neurones contain more than one neurotransmitter?. Nature 270, 622–623 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/270622a0

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