Journal of Cell Science, Vol 14, 351-367, Copyright © 1974 by Company of Biologists

Submitted on June 13, 1973

An Autoradiographical Study of the Localization of the Uptake of Glutamate by the Peripheral Nerves of the Crab, Carcinus Maenas (L.)

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, England; Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, Mass. 02115, U.S.A.

An autoradiographical localization of the uptake sites of [³H]glutamate has been performed on the peripheral nerves of Carcinus maenas (L.) at both the light- and electron-microscope levels. Biochemical control analyses have also been carried out at various stages of the fixation procedure. A statistical analysis of the grain distribution between the glial (and connective tissue) and axonal compartments revealed that it was highly non-random. A comparison has been made of the grain distribution obtained with the ‘circle analysis’ method with that from the ‘hypothetical grain distribution analysis’. The latter analysis revealed that the specific activity of label in the glial compartment was about seven times that of the axonal compartment. The significance of a preferential accumulation of glutamate by the glial compartments in this tissue is discussed in relation to similar findings in other tissues.