Some drugs and toxic compounds interfere with removal of neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft once they have been released

Question

(1) Explain the two basic mechanisms affected by Sarin nerve gas and the drug Prozac. (2) If you were investigating an autoimmune disease that appeared to interfere with removal of neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft, and you were able to isolate the causative antibody from the patient's serum, how could you use that antibody to investigate whether it affected one of the two inactivation mechanisms?
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer:
1) Sarin inhibits acetylcholinesterase, which is the enzyme that degrades acetylcholine in the synapse. Prozac blocks the reuptake mechanism that clears a synapse of serotonin.
2) You could test whether the antibody inhibited the neurotransmitter-degrading enzyme activity (e.g., acetylcholinesterase). Because the reuptake mechanism depends on membrane pumps that clear the neurotransmitter, you could use the antibody to determine whether it immunofluorescently labels pumps on the neuron synaptic region membrane and perhaps membranes of surrounding cells.