Amino acid transport by synaptosomes isolated from post mortem human brain

Synaptosomes isolated from post mortem human brain release the transmitter amino acids upon depolarisation. Active preparations can be isolated for up to 24 hours post mortem. The amount of depolarisation-induced release of the transmitter amino acids is correlated with the rate of oxygen uptake. Only when this correlation is taken into consideration would it be possible to detect disease-related changes in presynaptic amino-acid transport systems.