The stimulus-induced release of 5-hydroxytryptamine and tryptophan from superfused rat brain synaptosomes

The synthesis of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) from 3H-tryptophan in rat forebrain synaptosomes was studied. Synaptosomes which had been preincubated with 3H-tryptophan were perfused with Krebs solution and the release of tryptophan, 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) was determined. K+ depolarization induced a Ca2+ -dependent release of 5-HT and tryptophan but had no effect on 5-HIAA efflux. This finding suggests that the release of tryptophan is unlikely to be a non-specific effect of depolarization.