Ligand interactions of crustacean axonal membranes.

ABSTRACT

The relative abilities of a series of local anesthetics in which either or both the ester oxygens had been replaced with sulfur or selenium to block axonal or synaptic preparations are compared with their abilities to displace (3)H-nicotine from lobster axon plasma membrane fragments. The relative affinities of a series of cholinergic agonists and antagonists for synaptic and axonal membranes are discussed as is the salt sensitivity and reversibility of their interactions. The utility of a conjugate of ?-bungarotoxin and horse-radish peroxidase for the histochemical visualization of binding sites of intact axons or axonal vesicles is discussed. Labelling of a peptide isolated from axon plasma fragments with MBTA is compared with labelling of peptides isolated from synaptic membranes.