On the stereoselectivity of the neuronal uptake in the cat's nictitating membrane

Abstract

1. Pairs of smooth muscles isolated from the nictitating membrane of the cat were incubated with 1.2 ml of Krebs' solution containing 10 ng/ml of 3H-(±)-noradrenaline for 7.5 min (in the presence of U-0521 to inhibit COMT). Removal of the amine from the bath as well as the appearance of deaminated 3H-catechols in the bath were measured. 2. Pretreatment with reserpine did not affect the rate of removal, while increasing the rate of deamination. The ability of the muscles to retain exogenous amine for one hour was reduced to 12% of normal. 3. A certain fraction of the total production of deaminated 3H-catechols escaped into the medium. For any given duration of incubation this fraction was independent of the concentration of noradrenaline in the medium. On repeated incubation the fraction remained constant. Therefore, reliable estimates of the rate of deamination were obtained with repeated incubations of the same muscle. 4. Sympathetic denervation and/or cocaine revealed that 60% of removal (of which 10% are due to dilution) and 25% of deamination are extraneuronal. 5. For incubations of 7.5 min measured rates of deamination represent initial rates, measured rates of removal do not. 6. Unlabelled (−)- and (+)-noradrenaline were equipotent (ID50=about 1 μM) in inhibiting the deamination of 10 ng/ml of 3H-(±)-noradrenaline. This inhibitory effect must be exerted on neuronal deamination, since extraneuronal deamination (in denervated muscles) was not affected by the addition of unlabelled isomers. 7. It is proposed that, under these experimental conditions, neuronal unptake is the rate limiting step for neuronal deamination, and that neuronal uptake in the cat's nictitating membrane lacks stereoselectivity.