title: Regional distribution of adenosine uptake in guinea-pig brain slices and the effect of some inhibitors: Evidence for nitrobenzylthioinosine-sensitive and insensitive sites?
abstract: The accumulation of [2-(3)H]adenosine was measured in slices prepared from 7 regions of the guinea-pig central nervous system. There was a similar level of uptake in forebrain regions (cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus and midbrain), a lower level in the cerebellum, with lowest uptake in the pons-medulla and spinal cord. Uptake in all regions was strongly inhibited by the nucleoside transport inhibitor dipyridamole and by 5-iodotubercidin, an adenosine kinase inhibitor. The activity of adenosine kinase was similar in crude supernatants prepared from 8 regions of the guinea-pig and rat brain, with the exception of the spinal cord (lower activity than other regions in the guinea-pig CNS) and olfactory bulb (higher activity than other regions in the rat CNS). 5-Nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBMPR) and related thiopurines produced about 50% inhibition of adenosine uptake into guinea-pig cerebral cortex slices at 200 nM but increasing the concentration did not produce significant further inhibition. [(3)H]NBMPR has been proposed as a useful tight-binding ligand for nucleoside transport sites in various tissues but it is suggested that the distribution of such binding sites in different regions of the CNS may not directly reflect the adenosine uptake capacity of these regions?. Data suggest that there may be NBMPR-sensitive and -insensitive sites. Results confirm those of previous studies which suggest that intracellular adenosine kinase plays an important part in the uptake of adenosine in guinea-pig brain. The relatively homogeneous distribution of adenosine uptake activity in the brain contrasts with the heterogeneous distribution of A1-adenosine receptors in the CNS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, A.C.T. 2601 Australia.
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hambley