The uptake process for γ-aminobutyric acid in cultures of developing chick cerebrum

Abstract

Explants of chick cerebrum, grown in culture for up to 16 days, rapidly accumulated γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) when incubated in a medium containing 5 × 10 −8 m [ 3H] GABA at 25 C for 15 min. This accumulation of the amino acid was shown to be via a high-affinity (2.2 × 10 −5 m), active uptake system. The rate of uptake of GABA by cerebrum was extremely constant between the ages of 3 and 13 days in culture after which time it decreased slightly. The characteristics of the GABA uptake process in cultured cerebrum proved to be remarkably similar to those previously studied in other regions of the nervous system in culture. The present data are discussed in light of a probable role for GABA as a neurotransmitter.