Functional Significance of the Effects of Neurotransmitters on the Na+,K+‐ATPase System

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Abstract
The aim of the present experiments was to study the effects of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, noradrenaline, 5‐hydroxytryptamine, and dopamine on the Na+,K+‐ATPase of rat brain synaptosomal fractions. It is shown that dopamine at low concentrations specifically inhibits the Na+,K + ‐ATPase of synaptic membranes from the brain regions rich in dopaminergic endings, but has no effect on the synaptosomal Na+,K+‐ATPase from the other parts of brain. Acetylcholine and noradrenaline have similar specific effects on Na+,K+‐ATPase from cholinergic and adrenergic synaptosomes. The Na+,K+‐ATPases of synaptic membranes from the different brain regions, characterised by different distributions of cholinergic, adrenergic, and 5‐hydroxytrypta‐minergic endings, show different reactions with neurotransmitters. These data indicate a functional significance of the effects of the neurotransmitters on the synaptosomal Na+,K+‐ATPase.