ABSTRACT
@#Objective To analyze the physiologically active substances, named amino acid neurotransmitters, ATP and Ca2+ in rat spinal synaptosomes. Methods The spinal synaptosome was extracted by discontinuous Percoll density gradient centrifugation from a female Sprague-Dawley rat. The amino acid neurotransmitters were determined with high performance liquid chromatography, ATP content, Na+-K+-ATPase activity, Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity and total ATPase activity with ultraviolet spectrophotometer, and Ca2+ concentration with fluorescence spectrophotometer. Results The amino acid neurotransmitters contained mainly aspartic acid, glycine, glutamic acid and r-aminobutyric acid. The concentration of ATP was about 414.7461 μmol/mg, total ATPase activity > Na+-K+-ATPase activity > Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPasese activity. The concentration of Ca2+ could be calculated from absorbancy directly. Conclusion The rat spinal synaptosome contains a variety of physiologically active substances, which can be accurately analyzed to explore their activities.
ABSTRACT
@#The neuropeptide Y receptors system is a receptor-ligand system composed of neuropeptide Y and its receptors, which is represented by two subtypes, including Y1 receptor (Y1R) and Y2 receptor (Y2R). The system is widely involved in pain modulation in mammals. These receptors are G protein-coupled receptors, participating in neuronal membrane signaling. Neuropeptide Y receptors distribute in the pain-related regions of the central nervous system, play a variety of roles in maintains neuronal activity of pain transmission, relate to the specificity of distribution. At the spinal level, Y1R plays an analgesic role, whereas Y2R is usually related to pain-promoting. The system can also take part in cerebral pain modulation at different nuclei.