EFFECTS OF L-GLUTAMINE, GLUTAMINASE AND GLUTAMINE SYNTHETASE ON CAP THRESHOLD OF COCHLEAR NERVE OF GUINEA PIG

Negative direct current （_C 300 μA） stimulation was applied to the round window ofthe guinea pig cochlea to exhaust the pre-synaptic intracellular reserves of the transmitter inhair cells, and then the scala tympani was perfused respectively with L- glutamine, glutaminesynthetase and glutaminase. Experimental results showed that the negative DC electricalstimulation applied to the round window elevated the CAP threshold of the cochlear nervein the basal turn of the cochlea, which recovered over a period of approximately 17- 39 min.The perfusion of L- glutamine apparently elevated the CAP threshold. The recovery of theCAP threshold following electrical stimulation, however, was accelerated by the perfusion of10 mmol/L L- glutamine. The time for recovery only took about 5- 6 min. The perfusion ofenzyme glutamine synthetase elevated the CAP threshold by 50 dB, while glutaminase hadlittle effect. These results suggest that the effect of L- glutamine on the CAP threshold inthe cocblea of the guinea pig ap