The association of (3H)D-aspartate binding and high-affinity glutamate uptake in the human brain

The binding of (3H)D-aspartate ((3H)D-Asp) to human cerebellum homogenate was compared with the uptake of (3H)glutamate ((3H)Glu) by homogenates prepared from rapidly frozen human cerebral cortex. There was a close correlation between the potencies of a range of drugs for inhibiting the binding of (3H)D-Asp and the uptake of (3H)L-Glu. Compounds selective for postsynaptic Glu receptors were inactive. The findings are consistent with the labelling of high-affinity Glu uptake sites by (3H)D-Asp, which may be a valuable ligand for studying excitatory amino acid terminals in human brain (author)