BJORKLUND, A., L. CEGRELL, B. FALCK, M. R I T Z~N and E. ROSENGREN. Dopaminecontaining cells in sympathetic ganglia. Acta physiol. scand. 1970. 78. 334-338.In addition to noradrenaline (about 1.3-1.5 pg/g) dopamine (about 0.2 pglg) is present in the sympathetic chains of the cat and pig. By means of a recently developed microspectrofluorimetric method, the cellular localization of these two catecholamines has been studied.Dopamine was found in a special type of small, intensely fluorescent cells ("SIF-cells") located among the adrenergic ganglion cell bodies. Most of the dopamine present in the sympathetic ganglia is probably stored in these cells.

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By means of the fluorescence method of Falck and Hillarp, a storage of biogenic monoamines has been demonstrated in the endocrine cells of the pancreas in many mammals, although in some species only at early stages of development (Cegrell 1968b). However, in the cynomolgus monkey, rat, golden hamster, and the albino variants of rabbit and mouse no biogenic monoamines have so far been detected in the islets of Langerhans. I t is not yet known whether this finding reflects a principal difference or merely indicates that the islet cells operate with monoamines in very low concentrations or perhaps with other types of monoamines that have functional properties similar to those visualized histochemically in certain species. The last-mentioned alternatives imply that the compounds cannot be detected with the histochemical methods so far available.An uptake into mouse islets of the amino acids, the immediate precursors in the biosynthesis of monoamines (L-dopa and 5-HTP), has recently been demonstrated (Cegrell et al. 1964, RitzCn et al. 1965, Gershon and Ross 1966. Inthe guinea-pig, a storage of monoamines has been shown in the islets of Langerhans (Falck and Hellman 1964) and the endocrine cells are able to take up L-dopa. This uptake ability can be demonstrated in fetal life long before the monoamines themselves appear, and it persits into the adult stage also in those cells which then contain no demonstrable amounts of monoamines (Cegrell and Falck 1968). The aim of the present investigation has been to elucidate whether this uptake implies a monoamine mechanism in the islets cells or is part of a more general amino acid uptake. MATERIALSPancreatic glands from 118 adult albino mice were analyzed. The animals were injected with the different substances shown in Table 1; each group consisted of at least four animals. Dopa and DA were injected intravenously in a tail vein, whereas the monoamine-oxidase inhibitor nialamide (Niamid, Pfizer) (Beil et al. 1964) and the decarboxylase inhibitors NSD 101 5 (m-hydroxybenzyl-hydra-