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POSTNATAL CHANGES IN THE LEVELS OF GLYCINE AND THE ACTIVITIES OF SERINE HYDROXYMETHYLTRANSFERASE AND GLYCINE: 2‐OXOGLUTARATE AMINOTRANSFERASE IN THE RAT CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Author(s) -
Davies L. P.,
Johnston A. R.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1974.tb12185.x
Subject(s) - serine hydroxymethyltransferase , glycine , taurine , endocrinology , medicine , amino acid , central nervous system , biology , spinal cord , serine , glutamine , enzyme assay , biochemistry , enzyme , neuroscience
— Of the amino acids found in the CNS of 10‐day‐old rats the concentration of glycine alone was significantly higher in the spinal cord than in all other regions. Spinal levels of glycine, cystathionine, isoleucine and lysine from 1‐ and 10‐day‐old rats did not differ significantly from adult values, whereas the levels of most other amino acids, including GABA, glutamate, glutamine and taurine, were higher in the young animals than in the adults. Aspartate was the only amino acid found in lower concentration in the spinal cord of young animals than in adult animals. These and other observations support the conclusion that glycine is used as an inhibitory transmitter in rat spinal cord early in postnatal life. There was a general decrease in the activity of serine hydroxymethyltransferase and a slight increase in the activity of glycine:2‐oxoglutarate aminotransferase in the CNS during development. The activity of neither enzyme correlated on a regional basis with the glycine content. The high level of hydroxymethyltransferase activity in the cerebellum of 10‐day‐old rats suggests that the activity of this enzyme reflects cell growth rate.