Cerebral cortex slices in sodium-free medium: depletion of synaptic vesicles.
Rat cerebral cortex slices superfused for 5 min in sodium-free medium after 30-min stabilization and 25-min superfusion periods in sodium-containing medium displayed a well-preserved tissue structure and mostly intact neurons and glial cells. Electron-microscopic morphometry showed the number of presynaptic terminals containing few (less than or equal to 10) vesicles to increase 3-fold after the 5-min depletion of sodium. The 90-min sodium depletion resulted in increased swelling and an additional decrease in synaptic vesicles. The results show that from a morphological point of view the substitution of sodium by choline with brain slice techniques is an eminently suitable method for studies on synaptic neurochemistry.
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002794:Choline / Q000494:pharmacology; D005089:Exocytosis; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012964:Sodium / Q000502:physiology*; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D012964:Sodium; D002794:Choline; D002118:Calcium