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.