| Abstract: | The release of [3H]neurotransmitters was used as a functional assay to assess the actions of selected neurotoxins on the synaptosomal membranes prepared from the invertebrate nervous systems of squid and house fly. A reproducible release of [3]neurotransmitter was evoked by pulsed-depolarization in the presence of elevated K+ or of veratridine. Pretreatment with deltamethrin resulted in a substantial enhancement of [3H]neuro-transmitter release during pulsed-depolarization. This enhanced neurotransmitter release was greatly reduced or absent when synaptosomes of knockdown-resistant house flies were examined. No enhanced neurotransmitter release due to deltamethrin pretreatment was apparent from any synaptosomal preparation under non-depolarizing conditions. Under similar conditions, collaborative experiments demonstrated that deltamethrin causes a significant change in protein phosphorylation activities which follow depolarization. The most significant change caused by deltamethrin was the prolonged elevation of the level of phosphorylation on a number of key synaptic proteins beyond the normal time of their recovery to the dephosphorylated state. The most notable protein reacting to deltamethrin in this manner was calcium-cadlmodulin-dependent protein kinase. |
