Selective inhibition of synaptosomal proline uptake by leucine and methionine enkephalins

The high affinity, sodium-dependent uptake of proline by rat brain synaptosomes was inhibited by the opioid pentapeptides, Leu-enkephalin and Met-enkephalin. The synaptosomal uptake of other putative neurotransmitter amino acids including glutamic acid, aspartic acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and taurine was not altered in the presence of enkephalins. The uptake of a neuroinactive amino acid, leucine, was also unaffected by enkephalins. The extent of proline uptake was half-maximal at a Leu-enkephalin concentration of 1 microM. Both the initial rate of transport and the overall capacity for proline accumulation were reduced. The effect of the enkephalins was vectorial since carrier-mediated efflux of proline was not altered in the presence of enkephalins. Morphine and the opioid peptides, dynorphin and beta-endorphin, were without effect on proline uptake. The inhibition of proline uptake by enkephalins was not diminished by prior incubation of the synaptosomal preparation with naloxone; however, the inhibition was attenuated by 1-butanol. The des-tyrosyl fragments of the enkephalins were as inhibitory as the intact pentapeptides. A modified enkephalin ([D-Ser2]Leu-enkephalin-Thr) with selective affinity for the delta subclass of enkephalin receptor was effective in inhibiting proline uptake. On the basis of the selectivity of these effects, we propose that there is a specific population of nerve endings in the cerebral cortex that contains both a proline-transport system and binding sites for Leu- and Met-enkephalin and furthermore, that these binding sites may be related to the putative delta receptor.