Differences in L-[3H]glutamate accumulation and endogenous L-glutamate content in synaptic vesicles from mice...

The ATP-stimulated accumulation of L-[3H]glutamate by whole brain synaptic vesicle preparations from long-sleep and short-sleep mice, lines selectively bred for difference in sleep time response to acute ethanol administration, was examined. L-[3H]Glutamate accumulation in vesicles from short-sleep mice was approximately twice that observed in vesicles from long-sleep mice at three glutamate loading concentrations. The vesicular content of endogenous L-glutamate in crude and enriched vesicle preparations from short-sleep mice was approximately 1.5-fold higher than in vesicles from long-sleep mice. The data suggest that L-glutamate associated with synaptic vesicles may serve a role in glutamate neurosecretion.