Factors involved in drug interference on enzyme activities of three mitochondrial populations from rat hippocampus

The maximal rate (Vmax) of some mitochondrial enzyme activities related to energy transduction (citrate synthase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, NADH-cytochrome c reductase, cytochrome oxidase) and amino acid metabolism (glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamate-pyruvate transaminase and glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase) are evaluated in non synaptic ("free") and intrasynaptic mitochondria from brain hippocampus. The different mitochondrial populations were isolated from rat subjected to single i.p. treatment with saline solution, almitrine (30 mg/kg) and delta-yohimbine (10 mg/kg). In control rats, the mitochondrial populations exhibit different enzymatic patterns. Acute treatment with almitrine decreases cytochrome oxidase activity in intra-synaptic mitochondria, while acute treatment with delta-yohimbine decreases succinate dehydrogenase activity in both types of free and intra-synaptic mitochondria. NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity is also decreased by acute treatment with almitrine ("free" and "synaptic" mitochondria) and delta-yohimbine (synaptic mitochondria only).