ULTRASTRUCTURAL DEMONSTRATION OF ADENYLATE-CYCLASE ACTIVITY IN THE RAT NEOSTRIATUM

The ultrastructural histochemical localization of adenylate cyclase activity in the rat neostriatum was studied using cobalt as a precipitating agent. Basal adenylate cyclase activity was found intracellularly in some dendrites, whereas the neuronal cell bodies and glial cells were negative. In vitro stimulation of the tissue slices with dopamine before the histochemical procedure increased the adenylate cyclase activity which was also found associated with the postsynaptic membranes of axodendritic and axo-spinous synapses mainly containing small empty vesicles. Activity was also seen intracellularly in some nerve terminals containing synaptic vesicles. The significance of the cytochemical localization of dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase and the possible morphology of the dopaminergic synapses, including their possible interconnections, are discussed. © 1979.