Preparation of Synaptosomes and Synaptic Vesicles from Rat Brain

Isolated nerve terminals (synaptosomes) were prepared from adult and embryonic Wistar rat whole brains or isolated brain areas following the procedure described by Edelmann et al. (1995). Mostly, pregnant female rats and their embryos were used, although synaptosomes were also occasionally prepared from male rats. Usually, one rat was sufficient for a synaptosomal preparation. The rat was anaesthetised with ether and immediately sacrificed by decapitation. The adult brain was subsequently removed as quickly as possible and instantly placed in ice-cold sucrose solution (see Section 2.3). Pregnant females generally carried between 15 and 18 embryoes, which were removed and placed on foil-covered ice. Embryonic brains were isolated as fast as possible and pooled in ice-cold sucrose solution. All subsequent steps were then performed on ice or at 4 °C.