Solubilisation of the Benzodiazepine Receptor from Rat Cerebellum by the Detergent n‐Octylpentaoxyethylene

DR Bristow, IL Martin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:bold>Abstract: </jats:bold> The detergent <jats:italic>n</jats:italic>‐octylpentaoxyethylene is one in the series of tenside detergents developed for membrane solubilisation. We have used this detergent to solubilise benzodiazepine receptors from rat cerebellum. The soluble receptor has an affinity <jats:italic>(K</jats:italic><jats:sub>D</jats:sub>) for [<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>H]flunitrazepam of 1.8 n<jats:italic>M</jats:italic>± 0.2, which is not significantly different from that observed in synaptic membranes. Under optimal conditions (0.6% wt/vol), the number of soluble flunitrazepam binding sites (<jats:italic>B</jats:italic><jats:sub>max</jats:sub>) of 0.35 pmol/mg protein suggests an apparent solubilisation of 40% of sites from the membrane. However, the absence of the characteristic facilitation of [<jats:sup>3</jats:sup>H]flunitrazepam binding by γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA), cartazolate, and pentobarbital in this soluble receptor preparation suggests that such a preparation is unlikely to be a useful preparation for further studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying GABA<jats:sub>A</jats:sub> receptor function.</jats:p>
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1537-1540
Number of pages0
JournalJournal of Neurochemistry
Volume48
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 1987

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