Ageing and dopamine uptake by subcellular fractions of the C57BL/6J male mouse brain.

The uptake of dopamine (DA) by synaptosomes from the hypothalamus and striatum was reduced in healthy ageing mice at DA concentrations below 10(-7) M. Kinectic analysis indicates that ageing increases the Km of high affinity DA uptake processes by about 35%, but does not alter alter Vmax. l-Tyrosine and serotonin uptake at low concentrations was unaltered by ageing in the striatum and hypothalamus; no changes of L-norepinephrine uptake were found in the hypothalamus. We conclude that ageing may selectively affect DA uptake processes by neuronal membranes.