Substance P in rat brain synaptosomes.

1. Rat brain synaptosomes were incubated under different conditions to study the release of substance P (SP). 2. Potassium ions and electrical field stimulation induced a loss of SP from synaptosomes. The release of SP by potassium in high concentrations (23.8 mM) was shown to be calcium dependent. 3. Substance P was retained in synaptosomes during incubation in 0.32 M sucrose at +4 degrees C up to 120 min. During incubation at 30 degrees C the SP content fell initially (30 min) but was gradually restored (120 min). 4. If these pre-incubated synaptosomes were reincubated for 45 min at 30 degrees C in potassium free Krebs-Ringer-phosphate buffer a further rise in their SP content occurred which was taken as indication that SP is being synthesized in synaptosomes. 5. The newly synthesized SP is presumably stored by binding to phosphatidyl serine until a sudden release is initiated by depolarization.