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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
Single Synapse Indicators of Glutamate Release and Uptake in Acute Brain Slices from Normal and Huntington Mice
Published on: March 11, 2020
Ontogenetic profile of glutamate uptake in brain structures slices from rats: sensitivity to guanosine
Ana Paula Thomazi1, Graça F R S Godinho, Juliana M Rodrigues
1Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS, Ramiro Barcelos, 2600-Anexo, CEP: 90035-003, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Abstract:
The excitotoxicity of the neurotransmitter glutamate has been shown to be connected with many acute and chronic diseases of the CNS. High affinity sodium-dependent glutamate transporters play a key role in maintaining adequate levels of extracellular glutamate. In the present study, we used slices of striatum, hippocampus and cortex from rat brain to describe the in vitro profile of glutamate uptake during development and ageing, and its sensitivity to guanosine. In all structures, glutamate uptake was higher in immature animals. There was a maximum decrease in glutamate uptake in striatum and hippocampus in 15-month-old rats, which later increased, while in cortex there was a significant decrease in rats aged 60 days old. The effect of guanosine seems to be age and structure dependent since the increase in basal glutamate uptake was only seen in slices of cortex from 10-day-old animals.
