Glutamate, previously demonstrated to participate in regulation of the resting membrane potential in skeletal muscles, also regulates non-quantal acetylcholine (ACh) secretion from rat motor nerve endings. Non-quantal ACh secretion was estimated by the amplitude of endplate hyperpolarization (H-effect) following blockade of skeletal muscle post-synaptic nicotinic receptors by (+)-tubocurarine and cholinesterase by armin (diethoxy-p-nitrophenyl phosphate). Glutamate was shown to inhibit non-quantal release but not spontaneous and evoked quantal secretion of ACh. Glutamate-induced decrease of the H-effect was enhanced by glycine. Glycine alone also lowered the H-effect, probably due to potentiation of the effect of endogenous glutamate present in the synaptic cleft. Inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors with (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzocyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK801), DL-2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid (AP5) and 7-chlorokynurenic acid or the elimination of Ca It is well known that glutamate serves as a neurotransmitter at invertebrate neuromuscular junctions (Lunt and Olsen 1988) whereas acetylcholine (ACh) serves that role in the vertebrate. However, investigations during the last decade indicate a role for glutamate as a signalling molecule at the neuromuscular junction of vertebrates (see for review Grozdanovic and Baumgarten 1999). In support of this notion, glutamate transporter mRNA has been shown to be present in the cytoplasm of rat spinal motoneurones along with a glutamate-like immunoreactivity (Meister et al. 1993). Glutamate has been found in nerve terminals of rat motoneurones in association with synaptic vesicles (Waerhaug and Ottersen 1993) and evidence that it is co-released with ACh in cholinergic nerve terminals has been documented (Vyas and Bradford 1987;Israel et al. 1993;Meister et al. 1993). In addition, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and Received August 15, 2002; revised manuscript received November 20, 2002; accepted December 19, 2002. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Albert K. Urazaev, Department of Physiology, The Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. E-mail: urazaeva@mail.ecu.eduAbbreviations used: ACh, acetylcholine; AP5, DL-2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid; D-NAME, N G -nitro-D-arginine methyl ester; EPP, endplate potentials; L-NAME, N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; mEPP, miniature endplate potentials; MK801, (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzocyclohepten-5,10-imine; NO, nitric oxide; ODQ, 1H [1,2,4] oxadiazolo [4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one.