Howell G A, Welch M G, Frederickson C J
Nature. 1984;308(5961):736-8. doi: 10.1038/308736a0.
The mossy-fibre axons of the hippocampus form a dense plexus, uniquely rich in chelatable zinc. Because the metal is apparently concentrated within the terminal bags of the axons, it has been hypothesized that the zinc is involved in mossy-fibre synaptic transmission. Although some electrophysiological findings have favoured the hypothesis, neither preferential uptake of zinc into the hippocampus nor depolarization-induced release of zinc from hippocampal tissue has previously been found. Using the hippocampal slice preparation, we now report that the mossy-fibre neuropil and cells of origin (dentate granule cells) take up zinc preferentially, and that electrical stimulation selectively facilitates both uptake of exogenous zinc into mossy-fibre neuropil and release of previously incorporated 65Zn from the tissue. The results suggest that the role of zinc in mossy-fibre axons is dynamically linked to neural signalling processes.
海马体的苔藓纤维轴突形成一个密集的神经丛，其独特之处在于富含可螯合锌。由于这种金属显然集中在轴突的终末囊中，因此有人推测锌参与了苔藓纤维突触传递。尽管一些电生理研究结果支持这一假说，但此前并未发现锌优先被海马体摄取，也未发现去极化诱导锌从海马体组织中释放。利用海马体脑片制备技术，我们现在报告，苔藓纤维神经毡和起源细胞（齿状颗粒细胞）优先摄取锌，并且电刺激选择性地促进外源锌摄取到苔藓纤维神经毡中以及先前掺入的65Zn从组织中释放。结果表明，锌在苔藓纤维轴突中的作用与神经信号传导过程动态相关。
