Extracellular protein fractions were obtained (1) by mild, isotonic irrigation of freshly perfused brain tissue; (2) by collection of proteins released into superfusing medium by physiologically viable slices of rat hippocampus; and (3) by sampling the CSF of anesthetized rats. Analysis of the S-100 protein content of these fractions gave values of 2.8, 4.2, and 1.8 micrograms S-100/mg protein, respectively. These values were three- to sixfold higher than the S-100 content of the soluble cytoplasmic protein fractions from the same tissue. This several-fold higher S-100 content of the extracellular protein fractions relative to the intracellular cytoplasmic protein fractions indicates that S-100 is selectively released into the extracellular spaces of the brain. We suggest that the biological function of this CNS protein may involve intercellular transfer.

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An extraction procedure for the isolation of proteins from the brain extracellular fluid (ECF) was developed and applied to studies of the ECF components of mouse brain. Perfused intact brains were incubated in an isotonic medium for periods of up to 2 h at 0 degrees C to allow the release of ECF into the medium without disruption of the integrity of the tissue. The validity of the extraction procedure was established by (a) the fact that the total yield of ECF proteins was constant per unit weight of brain tissue, (b) the absence of tyrosine hydroxylase, an enzyme marker of the cytoplasmic fraction, from the extracts, and (c) the distinctive features of the one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoretic patterns of ECF proteins as compared with those of the cytoplasmic and membrane fractions. The results indicate that the extracellular fluid of mouse brain contains a mixture of proteins with a wide distribution of molecular weights (10,000-100,000 daltons) at a concentration level of about 0.3%.

Low-frequency stimulation of hippocampal mossy fiber axons in zinc-deficient adult rats produced synaptic responses that declined in amplitude with successive stimuli. This response decrement is abnormal and suggests that the heavy deposits of zinc in mossy fiber boutons are important for synaptic transmission.

1-O-Linolenoyl-2-O-(4-aminobutyryl)-3-O-(4-vinyl-4-aminobutyryl)glycerol (LGV) was synthesized as an example of a prodrug which readily penetrates the blood-brain barrier (brain penetration index 97% +/- 15%) and releases two active substances in the central nervous system (CNS): GABA (4-aminobutanoic acid) and the GABA transaminase inhibitor (GABA-T) of GABA breakdown. In vitro studies showed that the compound can inhibit GABA-T after hydrolysis by CNS esterases and that it enhanced GABAergic inhibition when applied to rat hippocampus slices. In vivo studies indicate that LGV depresses the spontaneous locomotor activity of mice. Its activity on a molar basis was some 300 times greater than that of gamma-vinyl-GABA.

A series of 14C-labeled and unlabeled di-gamma-aminobutyric acid esters of glyceryl lipids having zero to three double bonds (stearoyl, oleoyl, linoleoyl, and linolenoyl) were synthesized. Measurements of the octanol/water partition coefficients of the compounds showed an increase with decreasing number of double bonds (i.e., from linolenoyl to stearoyl). The brain-uptake index went up from 31.5 (linolenoyl) to 45.1 (stearoyl) and similarly the brain-penetration index went up from 15 (linolenoyl) to 28 (stearoyl). Intraperitoneal injections of these di-GABA lipid esters produced a substantial inhibition of the general motor activity in mice at a dose of 30 mg/kg; the most active molecules were those containing two and three double bonds, i.e., the linolenoyl and linolenoyl derivatives. This is in reverse order to that predicted by brain-uptake and lipid-solubility properties, suggesting that the structure of the fatty acid side chain may be an additional factor in influencing biological activity.