title: High potassium, veratridine and electrically induced release of taurine from the cerebellar cortex.
abstract: In the in vivo superfused cerebellar cortex of anaesthetized rats, the following stimuli were effective in evoking large increases of isotopically labelled taurine from preloaded tissue: high (40 mM) K+; rectangular, 0.1 msec electrical pulses at 1.5 mA and 500 Hz; the depolarizing veratrum alkaloid, veratridine (0.5 x 10(-5) M) and scorpion venom (10(-6) g.ml-1). Both the high K+ and electrically evoked effluxes were markedly Ca2+ dependent; the veratridine response was abolished in the presence of tetrodotoxin (10(-6) g.ml-1). The data indicate that taurine is being released from excitable cells rather than neuroglia and may therefore have some neurotransmitter-like role in the cerebellum.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology; D013654:Taurine / Q000378:metabolism*; D014701:Veratridine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014702:Veratrine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D012604:Scorpion Venoms; D013654:Taurine; D014701:Veratridine; D014702:Veratrine; D011188:Potassium