Effects of Zinc, Mercury, or Lead on [H]MK-801 and [H]Fluorowillardiine Binding to Rat Synaptic Membranes.

Glutamate (Glu) is considered the most important excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter in the mammalian Central Nervous System. Zinc (Zn) is co-released with Glu during synaptic transmission and interacts with Glutamate receptors and transporters. We performed binding experiments using [H]MK-801 (NMDA), and [H]Fluorowillardine (AMPA) as ligands to study Zn-Glutamate interactions in rat cortical synaptic membranes.

AMPA and NMDA receptors in P2 fractions of cocaine and cocaine-prazosin-treated rats.

Cocaine sensitization results in the development of increased locomotion and stereotypy. It is accompanied by changes in glutamatergic trasmission that appear to be region-specific. The purpose of this article was to determine the effect(s) of cocaine and prazosin plus cocaine treatments on ionotropic glutamate receptors in rat cerebral cortex (CTX) and prefrontal cortex (PFC).

Caveolin isoform expression during differentiation of C6 glioma cells.

Caveolae, a specialized form of lipid rafts, are cholesterol- and sphingolipid-rich membrane microdomains implicated in potocytosis, endocytosis, transcytosis, and as platforms for signal transduction. One of the major constituents of caveolae are three highly homologous caveolin isoforms (caveolin-1, caveolin-2, and caveolin-3). The present study expands the analysis of caveolin isoform expression in C6 glioma cells.