Correlation of the recovery of the granular uptake-storage mechanism and the nerve impulse induced release of [3H]noradrenaline after reserpine

Abstract

Abstract Rats were treated intraperitoneally with 10 mg/kg reserpine. After various time intervals 1 μg/kg ± [3H]noradrenaline (3H-NA) was administered intravenously, and the uptake into subcellular fractions of the submaxillary gland was measured or, in some of the rats, the sympathetic chain of the neck was electrically stimulated with 10 impulses/s for 30 min. The release of 3H-NA and the contraction response of the lower eye-lid were measured. A striking parallel was observed between the recovery of the 3H-NA uptake into the amine storage particles and the nerve impulse-induced release of 3H-NA, and also the recovery of the functional response. The somewhat earlier recovery of the 3H-NA uptake into the coarse fraction might reflect the existence of another type of amine storage granule or might represent granules present near the nerve cell membrane. A possible increase in the turnover of the adrenergic transmitter during the period of recovery after reserpine is discussed.