Distributions of taurine, glutamate, and glutamate receptors during post-natal development and plasticity in the rat brain

Abstract

In summary, taurine and glutamate distributions seemed to be related spatio-temporally during development in the hippocampus and cerebellum and during plasticity of the adult dentate gyrus. In some cases, the amino acids appeared to be setting up adult localizations, while others involved a change in distribution from early development to adulthood that may indicate a related role for taurine and glutamate in dendritic outgrowth and synapse formation. Further elucidation of the subcellular localizations should provide some insight into the functions of taurine and glutamate during these critical periods in development. In addition, there appeared to be developmental patterns of decreased density of kainate and Met2 glutamate receptors that may be worth exploring in terms of interrelationships with taurine.