Pow D V, Cook D K
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Neuroreport. 1997 May 6;8(7):1767-70. doi: 10.1097/00001756-199705060-00039.
Tryptophan is a large neutral amino acid which is utilized in the biosynthesis of neuroactive substances such as serotonin and melatonin. However, it has been unclear where pools of tryptophan might be localized. Using a specific antiserum against tryptophan, we demonstrate that in the chicken retina tryptophan is present in radial glial cells and photoreceptors, but not in other neuronal elements. These data suggest that serotonergic neurones are probably dependent upon the transfer of tryptophan from the glial cells in order to manufacture serotonin and other tryptophan derivatives in the brain. If glia do supply tryptophan to neurones then this process will have significant practical implications for our basic understanding of and pharmacological manipulation of serotonergic systems.
色氨酸是一种大型中性氨基酸，用于生物合成神经活性物质，如血清素和褪黑素。然而，色氨酸池可能位于何处尚不清楚。我们使用针对色氨酸的特异性抗血清，证明在鸡视网膜中，色氨酸存在于放射状神经胶质细胞和光感受器中，但不存在于其他神经元成分中。这些数据表明，血清素能神经元可能依赖于神经胶质细胞中色氨酸的转移，以便在大脑中制造血清素和其他色氨酸衍生物。如果神经胶质细胞确实向神经元提供色氨酸，那么这一过程将对我们对血清素能系统的基本理解和药理操纵产生重大实际影响。
