The interaction of four putative glutamate antagonists with glutamate and their effects on the toad spinal cord.

1. Four putative glutamate antagonists (L-glutamate diethyl ester, L-glutamate dimethyl ester, L-proline and 1-hydroxy-3-amino-pyrrolidone-2) were tested on the isolated hemisected toad spinal cord. 2. 1-hydroxy-3-amino-pyrrolidone-2 (10(-3)-10(-2) M) selectively antagonized the depolarizations evoked in both dorsal and ventral roots by applications of L-glutamate (5 X 10(-4) M). 3 1-hydroxy-3-amino-pyrrolidone-2 also antagonized the depolarizations evoked in both dorsal and ventral roots by stimulation of the adjacent dorsal root. 4. The dimethyl and diethyl esters of L-glutamate and L-proline had their own depolarizing actions on the dorsal and ventral roots, and neither potentiated nor antagonized the effects of L-glutamate. 5. The results with 1-hydroxy-3-amino-pyrrolidone-2 offer further evidence for the involvement of L-glutamate and L-aspartate in synaptic transmission in the amphibian spinal cord.