Release of purines from postsynaptic structures of amphibian ganglia

Isolated sympathetic paravertebral ganglia of the frog were incubated for 1 h with [3H]adenosine. Then, after washout of excess label, the contribution of pre- and post-synaptic activation on the release of 3H-labeled purines was studied. The ganglion was superfused with Ringer's solution at room temperature, and extracellular electrodes were used for stimulation and recording. Preganglionic stimulation enhanced overall release of 3H-labeled purines. At rest, the release of 3H-labeled purines per minute represented 0.62 +/- 0.02% of the total 3H-label in the ganglion, and this fraction increased depending on the frequency of orthodromic stimulation. Analyses of the effluent from resting and stimulated ganglia showed that in both cases the nonnucleotide fractions constituted greater than 97% of the total counts in the medium: adenosine (58.4 +/- 10.1%); inosine (31.7 +/- 12.9%); hypoxanthine (7.1 +/- 2.4%); and AMP, ADP, and ATP together (1.6 +/- 0.9%) (n = 11). Nucleotides were released, but their levels were not increased significantly during stimulation. Inclusion of ectophosphatase inhibitors slightly enhanced nucleotide release (from 1.1 +/- 0.5 to 1.8 +/- 0.7%; n = 5) but did not alter the amount of nucleosides. Hence, nucleosides are the main products released by the ganglion and do not arise from hydrolysis of extracellular ATP. Preganglionic stimulation enhanced release of labeled purines, which was frequency dependent from 1 to 20 Hz. Atropine (2 microM) and tubocurarine (150 microM) totally blocked the release of 3H-labeled purines associated with preganglionic stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)