Homocysteate, an Excitatory Transmitter Candidate Localized in Glia

l-Homocysteate, a sulphur-containing l-glutamate analogue has recently been proposed as a neurotransmitter candidate. However, the cellular localization of this excitatory amino acid remained to be determined. By means of immunocytochemistry, the localization of homocysteate was accomplished in the cerebellar cortex of rats. Cerebellar glia could be defined as the major store of this compound. Homocysteate, thus, may not be a classical neurotransmitter but rather a member of another class of intercellular messengers that might be termed ‘gliotransmitters’.