NEUROTRANSMISSION, A STORY BEHIND THE HISTORY

SERRA, HA; ALVANO, SA; ESTRÍN, MA; FADEL, DO; GUELMAN, LR; IANNANTUONO, R; IBELLI, F

Mar del Plata, Prov de Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2023

Sociedades Argentinas de Biociencias: SAIC, SAB, AAFE, AACYTAL

Introduction: The receptor idea radically changed the modern pharmacology and therapeutics. A part of this idea was due to the development of autonomic neurotransmission (NT). In Argentina, the group led by Professor De Robertis developed a fundamental tool for understanding NT functioning, the synaptosome. For more than 40 years the authors of this communication have recognized one of the members of De Robertis group, as their mentor and teacher, the late Professor Luis María Zieher.Objective: Highlight the NT concept and the Professor Zieher role in this history, as a tribute to his work.Methodology: Literature and web search of relevant articles on NT and those written in this regard by Professor Zieher.Results: NT is an intracellular communication by substances inside the nervous system and towards its effectors. In the past, two theories about this were formulated: the electrical one, coming from observations on neuromuscular excitability, and the humoral one, coming from chemical substances effects on peripheral nervous system. The Otto Loewi experiments, around 1920, using a heart preparation in tandem, definitively demonstrated the existence of chemical neurotransmitters released by stimulated nerves. Then, synaptic vesicles were described with the electron microscope help and, in this field, a young Zieher began his career. In his first works, around 1963, he demonstrated that axonal vesicles from rat hypothalamus were the source of the observed norepinephrine high concentration. And then, together with Jaim Etcheverry, he proposed thecotransmission concept. This was contrary to the prevailing idea at that time, proposed by Henry Dale, "a neuron, a neurotransmitter”.Conclusion: Seen today NT is a complex, robust and versatile concept, but it should not be forgotten that the human species development and its culture has depended, depends and will depend on the brain cells communication. We owe a small part of this knowledge to Luis María Zieher.