Abstract
Summary
Stimulation of the in vitro oxygen uptake of rat cerebral cortical slices by some factor which diffuses from rat sciatic nerve or the sheath of sciatic nerve during a 2-hour incubation period at room temperature has been shown. The incubation medium used was phosphate buffered, possessing the normal ionic constituents except for calcium and lacking exogenous substrates. The control QO2 determined in this medium was 3.0 with values of 4.9 (P<0.01) and 4.1 (P<0.015) resulting from nerve- and sheath-activated media respectively. QO2 values determined in a well-substrated medium (Krebs III solution lacking calcium) did not show any stimulation. The results of these experiments suggest that both the nerve and its sheath are good sources of an oxygen uptake stimulating material. The nature of the substance is unknown.
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