Thiamine release from nerve membranes by tetrodotoxin.

Tetrodotoxin (3 x 10(-8) molar) promoted the release of thiamine from perfused rat and frog nerve preparations in a manner similar to other neuroactive drugs. When the rats were injected with thiamine labeled with sulfur-35, analyses of brain, spinal cord, and sciatic nerve homogenates revealed labeled thiamine in membrane, synaptosomes, and mitochondrial subfractions. However, on incubation of these fractions with tetrodotoxin, thiamine was released only from the membrane fragments.