STUDIES ON ACTIVE TRASPORT OF L-DOPA (DIHYDROXY-PHENYLALANINE) INTO BRAIN SLICES

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Abstract
L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) accumulated against a concentration gradient in brain slices by an energy dependent process, but D-DOPA was little transported by an active process. Phenyl-alanine and tyrosine inhibited DOPA accumulation but glutamic acid and alanine did not show any significant effect on it. Influence of ionic composition in external medium was examined. Presence of a certain concentration of Na+, K+ and Mg++ was required to get the maximum level of DOPA accumulation in brain slices. A hypothesis on the nature of a carrier system for active transport of DOPA into brain slices was proposed and discussed.