A second pathway of activation of the Torpedo acetylcholine receptor channel.

We have studied the interaction of the reversible acetylcholine esterase inhibitor (-)physostigmine (D-eserine) with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) from Torpedo marmorata electric tissue by means of ligand-induced ion flux into nAChR-rich membrane vesicles and of equilibrium binding. We find that (-) physostigmine induces cation flux (and also binds to the receptor) even in the presence of saturating concentrations of antagonists of acetylcholine, such as D-tubocurarine, alpha-bungarotoxin or antibody WF6. The direct action on the acetylcholine receptor is not affected by removal of the methylcarbamate function from the drug and thus is not due to carbamylation of the receptor. Antibodies FK1 and benzoquinonium antagonize channel activation (and binding) of eserine, suggesting that the eserine binding site(s) is separate from, but adjacent to, the acetylcholine binding site at the receptor. In addition to the channel activating site(s) with an affinity of binding in the 50 microM range, there exists a further class of low-affinity (Kd approximately mM) sites from which eserine acts as a direct blocker of the acetylcholine-activated channel. Our results suggest the existence of a second pathway of activation of the nAChR channel.     

Roles of agonist-binding sites in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function

Under equilibrium conditions, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo electroplax carries two high affinity-binding sites for agonists. It is generally assumed that these are the only agonist sites on the receptor and that their occupancy results in rapid channel activation followed by slower conformational transitions that lead to the high affinity equilibrium state. These slow transitions are thought to reflect the physiological process of desensitization. Here we show that preequilibration of the high affinity sites with saturating concentrations of carbamylcholine does not diminish the ion flux response to subsequent exposure to higher (activating) concentrations of this agonist. This finding has profound implications with respect to receptor function: (1) occupancy of the high affinity sites per se does not desensitize the receptor and (2) these sites cannot be directly involved in receptor activation. It is thus necessary to invoke the presence of additional binding sites in channel opening.     

Mapping of a cholinergic binding site by means of synthetic peptides, monoclonal antibodies, and alpha-bungarotoxin

Previous studies by several laboratories have identified a narrow sequence region of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) alpha subunit, flanking the cysteinyl residues at positions 192 and 193, as containing major elements of, if not all, the binding site for cholinergic ligands. In the present study, we used a panel of synthetic peptides as representative structural elements of the AChR to investigate whether additional segments of the AChR sequences are able to bind alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BTX) and several alpha-BTX-competitive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The mAbs used (WF6, WF5, and W2) were raised against native Torpedo AChR, specifically recognize the alpha subunit, and bind to AChR is inhibited by all cholinergic ligands. WF6 competes with agonists, but not with low mol. wt. antagonists, for AChR binding. The synthetic peptides used in this study were approximately 20 residue long, overlapped each other by 4-6 residues, and corresponded to the complete sequence of Torpedo AChR alpha subunit. Also, overlapping peptides, corresponding to the sequence segments of each Torpedo AChR subunit homologous to alpha 166-203, were synthesized. alpha-BTX bound to a peptide containing the sequence alpha 181-200 and also, albeit to a lesser extent, to a peptide containing the sequence alpha 55-74. WF6 bound to alpha 181-200 and to a lesser extent to alpha 55-74 and alpha 134-153. The two other mAbs predominantly bound to alpha 55-74, and to a lesser extent to alpha 181-200. Peptides alpha 181-200 and alpha 55-74 both inhibited binding of 125I-alpha-BTX to native Torpedo AChR. None of the peptides corresponding to sequence segments from other subunits bound alpha-BTX or WF6, or interfered with their binding. Therefore, the cholinergic binding site is not a single narrow sequence region, but rather two or more discontinuous sequence segments within the N-terminal extracellular region of the AChR alpha subunit, folded together in the native structure of the receptor, contribute to form a cholinergic binding region. Such a structural arrangement is similar to the "discontinuous epitopes" observed by X-ray diffraction studies of antibody-antigen complexes [reviewed in Davies et al. (1988)].     

Separate sites of low and high affinity for agonists on Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor

We have studied alkylation of the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor (AcChR) from Torpedo californica electric organ by the cholinergic agonist bromo-acetylcholine (BrAcCh). Following reduction of the AcChR with dithiothreitol (DTT) under strictly controlled conditions, a single class of binding sites was covalently labeled by BrAcCh. The extent of alkylation was dependent on the concentration of both DTT and BrAcCh and reached a maximum when a number of sites equivalent to the number of alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BTx) binding sites were labeled. The reaction with BrAcCh was completely inhibited by saturating concentrations of alpha-BTx. On the contrary, complete alkylation of the AcChR with [3H]BrAcCh consistently inhibited only approximately 50% of alpha-BTx binding. The effects of DTT reduction and subsequent BrAcCh alkylation on the cation-gating properties of the AcChR were investigated in rapid kinetic experiments. DTT reduction resulted in a slight decrease in the maximum cation flux and a small shift in the effective dissociation constant to higher acetylcholine (AcCh) concentration. The flux response was completely inhibited by maximal alkylation of the membrane vesicles by BrAcCh. A low-affinity binding site for AcCh, which is likely to be important in AcChR activation, has been revealed for T. californica AcChR by studying the effects of cholinergic ligands on the fluorescence of a probe, 4-[(iodoacetoxy)ethylmethylamino]-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (IANBD), covalently bound to the AcChR protein. Maximal labeling by BrAcCh did not affect the binding of AcCh to the low-affinity binding site, as monitored by changes in the fluorescence of this probe. This low-affinity binding site must therefore be distinct from the site labeled by BrAcCh. The results strongly support the notion that the nicotinic AcChR contains multiple binding sites for cholinergic ligands.     

Rapid kinetics of agonist binding and permeability response analyzed in parallel on acetylcholine receptor rich membranes from Torpedo marmorata

Excitable acetylcholine receptor rich membrane fragments from Torpedo marmorata have been used to measure, in parallel, (1) the permeability response to the fluorescent cholinergic agonist Dns-C6-Cho (in the 0.1 microM to millimolar concentration range) characterized by both the initial rate of Li+ transport and the rate of channel closure using the rapid-mixing quench-flow technique and (2) the kinetics of interaction of Dns-C6-Cho with the acetylcholine receptor sites using the rapid-mixing stopped-flow technique. Analysis of the kinetics of Dns-C6-Cho binding in the millisecond to minute time scale leads to the identification of at least three conformational states of the acetylcholine receptor: a "low-affinity" one (approximately 50 microM) that can be interconverted in the fraction of a second to a transient state of "intermediate affinity" (approximately 1 microM), followed by the final stabilization, in the second to minute time range, of a state of "high affinity" (approximately 3 nM). Comparison of Dns-C6-Cho binding data with the permeability response to the same agonist demonstrates that the binding to the low-affinity conformation(s) of the acetylcholine receptor sites coincides with the triggering of the permeability increase--or "activation"--and the transitions to the intermediate- and high-affinity states with the two-step process of channel closing--or "desensitization". The data are interpreted in terms of a minimum four-state "allosteric" model for the acetylcholine receptor.     

Effects of Substance P on the Binding of Agonists to the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor of Torpedo Electroplaque

Abstract: Abstract: The effect of the neuropeptide substance P on the binding of the cholinergic ligands to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor of Torpedo electroplaque membranes was examined at a physiological concentration of NaCl (150 m M ). Substance P had no effect on the initial rate of ¹²⁵I-α-bungarotoxin binding at concentrations of <100 μ M . The peptide did not bind to the high-affinity local anesthetic site but allosterically modulated [³H]phencyclidine binding, positively in the absence of agonist and negatively in the presence of agonist. Substance P increased the apparent affinity of the cholinergic agonists carbamylcholine and acetylcholine at equilibrium. The effect of substance P on the equilibrium binding of [³H]acetylcholine was examined directly, and the peptide appeared to increase the affinity of the binding of the second molecule of agonist, with no effect on the binding of the first. This indicates that substance P can affect the cooperative interactions between agonist binding sites. Substance P appeared to increase the rate of carbamylcholine-induced desensitization; however, the data are also consistent with an allosteric mechanism that does not involve the desensitized state. To attempt to differentiate between these mechanisms, the rates of recovery were determined after exposure to peptide and/or agonist. The kinetics of recovery are consistent with stabilization of the desensitized state by substance P if the peptide remains bound long enough to allow rapid recovery to the low-affinity state. However, an allosteric modulation of agonist binding that does not involve the desensitized state cannot be ruled out.     

Antibodies against preselected peptides to map functional sites on the acetylcholine receptor

Rabbit immune sera and mouse monoclonal antibodies were raised against the synthetic peptide Tyr-Cys-Glu-Ile-Ile-Val matching in sequence residues 127-132 of the alpha-subunit of all nicotinic acetylcholine receptors sequenced so far. Representative cholinergic ligands did not interfere with the binding of these antibodies to the receptor from Torpedo marmorata, indicating that this sequence is not part of the binding sites for cholinergic ligands. The applicability of antigenic sites analysis to the mapping of functional sites on receptor proteins is discussed.     

Alpha-bungarotoxin and the competing antibody WF6 interact with different amino acids within the same cholinergic subsite

In the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), the sequence segment surrounding two invariant vicinal cysteinyl residues at positions 192 and 193 of the alpha subunit contains important structural component(s) of the binding site for acetylcholine and high molecular weight cholinergic antagonists, like snake alpha-neurotoxins. At least a second sequence region contributes to the formation of the cholinergic site. Studying the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin and three different monoclonal antibodies, able to compete with alpha-neurotoxins and cholinergic ligands, to a panel of synthetic peptides as representative structural elements of the AChR from Torpedo, we recently identified the sequence segments alpha 181-200 and alpha 55-74 as contributing to form the cholinergic site (Conti-Tronconi et al., 1990). As a first attempt to elucidate the structural requirements for ligand binding to the subsite formed by the sequence alpha 181-200, we have now studied the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin and of antibody WF6 to the synthetic peptide alpha 181-200, and to a panel of peptide analogues differing from the parental sequence alpha 181-200 by substitution of a single amino acid residue. CD spectral analysis of the synthetic peptide analogues indicated that they all have comparable structures in solution, and they can therefore be used to analyze the influence of single amino acid residues on ligand binding. Distinct clusters of amino acid residues, discontinuously positioned along the sequence 181-200, seem to serve as attachment points for the two ligands studied, and the residues necessary for binding of alpha-bungarotoxin are different from those crucial for binding of antibody WF6. In particular, residues at positions 188-190 (VYY) and 192-194 (CCP) were necessary for binding of alpha-bungarotoxin, while residues W187, T191, and Y198 and the three residues at positions 193-195 (CPD) were necessary for binding of WF6. Comparison of the CD spectra of the toxin/peptide complexes, and those obtained for the same peptides and alpha-bungarotoxin in solution, indicates that structural changes of the ligand(s) occur upon binding, with a net increase of the beta-structure component. The cholinergic binding site is therefore a complex surface area, formed by discontinuous clusters of amino acid residues from different sequence regions. Such complex structural arrangement is similar to the "discontinuous epitopes" observed by X-ray diffraction studies of antibody/antigen complexes [reviewed in Davies et al. (1988)]. Within this relatively large structure, cholinergic ligands bind with multiple points of attachment, and ligand-specific patterns of the attachment points exist.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Equilibrium binding of cholinergic ligands to the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor

We have studied the binding equilibria of the membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo marmorata with representative cholinergic ligands by means of two fluorescence and a rapid centrifugation assay. Based on the established mechanism of acetylcholine binding to the receptor (Fels, G., Wolff, E. K., and Maelicke, A. (1982) Eur. J. Biochem. 127, 31-38), the obtained binding and competition data were analyzed assuming two classes of interacting sites for all ligands studied. The experimental data were consistent with this assumption and, based on the obtained KD values, suggest weak positively cooperative interactions of binding sites when occupied by agonists but independent (or negatively cooperative interacting) sites when occupied by antagonists. Based on the fluorescence binding assay employed, agonists and antagonists induce different conformational states of the liganded receptor. These states seem to be similar for all antagonists tested but differ for the different agonists tested. The existence of ligand-specific conformational states suggests a close link of these states with receptor function.     

Kinetics of unliganded acetylcholine receptor channel gating.

Open- and closed-state lifetimes of unliganded acetylcholine receptor channel activity were analyzed by the method of likelihood maximazation. For both open times and closed times, the best-fitting density is most often a sum of two exponentials. These multiple open states cannot depend on the number of receptor binding sites occupied since they are observed in the absence of ligand. The rate of spontaneous opening and the faster decay constant of closing increased as the membrane was hyperpolarized. The voltage dependence of the rate of spontaneous opening is stronger than that for curare-liganded channels. Evidence that the acetylcholine receptor channel can open spontaneously in the absence of ligand has been presented previously (Sanchez et al, 1983; Brehm et al, 1984; Jackson, 1984). To add to this evidence, alpha-bungarotoxin was added to the patch electrode, causing the frequency of openings to decay with time. The rate constant determined from this decay is similar to rate constants reported for the binding of iodinated alpha-bungarotoxin to the acetylcholine receptor. The frequency of unliganded channel opening has been estimated as 2 X 10(-3) s-1 per receptor. A comparison of carbamylcholine-liganded and spontaneous gating transition rates suggests that ligand binding increases the rate of opening by a factor of 1.4 X 10(7). Carbamylcholine binding increases the mean open time by a factor of 5. Thus, a cholinergic agonist activates the acetylcholine receptor by destabilizing the closed state. The liganded and unliganded channel gating rates were used to analyze the energetics of ligand activation of the acetylcholine receptor channel, and to relate the open channel dissociation constant to the closed channel dissociation constant.     

Covalent labeling of the acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo electric tissue with the channel blocker [3H]triphenylmethylphosphonium by ultraviolet irradiation

The lipophilic cation [3H]triphenylmethylphosphonium, frequently used as a voltage sensor in membrane systems, binds reversibly to a site different from the acetylcholine binding site. This is concluded from the different pH dependences of the binding of these two ligands. Furthermore [3H]triphenylmethylphosphonium, previously identified as a channel blocker, can be covalently incorporated into acetylcholine receptor-rich membranes from Torpedo electric tissue by UV irradiation of the receptor-ligand complex. In the absence of effector, predominantly the alpha-polypeptide chains (Mr 40000) of the receptor protein are labeled by the radioactive ligand. The agonist carbamoylcholine strongly stimulates the labeling, but it directs the label predominantly to the delta- and beta-polypeptide chains. The antagonist D-tubocurarine and the virtually irreversible competitive antagonist alpha-bungarotoxin have qualitatively the same effect as the agonist carbamoylcholine. Significant differences were obtained with receptor-rich membranes prepared from Torpedo marmorata and Torpedo californica: No agonist- or antagonist-stimulated reaction was observed with the latter. The results are interpreted as an indication of a rearrangement of the receptor's quaternary structure caused by cholinergic effector binding preceding discrimination between agonists and antagonists.     

Desensitization is a property of the cholinergic binding region of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, not of the receptor-integral ion channel.

The reversible acetylcholine esterase inhibitor (-)-physostigmine (eserine) is the prototype of a new class of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) activating ligands: it induces cation fluxes into nAChR-rich membrane vesicles from Torpedo marmorata electric tissue even under conditions of antagonist blocked acetylcholine binding sites (Okonjo, Kuhlmann, Maelicke, Neuron, in press). This suggests that eserine exerts its channel-activating property via binding sites at the nAChR separate from those of the natural transmitter. We now report that eserine can activate the channel even when the receptor has been preincubated (desensitized) with elevated concentrations of acetylcholine. Thus the conformational state of the receptor corresponding to desensitization is confined to the transmitter binding region, leaving the channel fully activatable-albeit only from other than the transmitter binding site(s).     

Single-channel recordings from purified acetylcholine receptors reconstituted in bilayers formed at the tip of patch pipets

The channel of the purified acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica electric organ reconstituted in lipid vesicles was assayed by direct electrical recording using patch-clamp pipets. High-resistance seals were obtained by gentle suction of vesicles into the pipet or after the formation of lipid bilayers from monolayers at the tip of the pipet. Single-channel currents were activated by three cholinergic ligands: acetylcholine, carbamylcholine, and suberyldicholine. The single-channel conductance, gamma, was 40 +/- 5 pS in 0.5 M NaCl, irrespective of the agonist used. The distributions of channel open times were fitted by a sum of two exponentials. The lifetimes of the two exponential components were a factor of 2 longer for suberyldicholine than for acetylcholine or carbamylcholine. At desensitizing concentrations of agonists the single events appeared in paroxysms of channel activity followed by quiescent periods. These results suggest that the full cycle of solubilization, purification, and reconstitution of this membrane receptor can be achieved without impairment of channel function.     

Novel Photoactivatable Agonist of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor of Potential Use for Exploring the Functional Activated State

Abstract: The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) exhibits at least four different conformational states varying in affinity for agonists such as acetylcholine (ACh). Photoaffinity labeling has been previously used to elucidate the topography of the AChR. However, to date, the photosensitive probes used to explore the cholinergic binding site photolabeled only closed or desensitized states of the receptor. To identify the structural modifications occurring at the ACh binding site on allosteric transition associated with receptor activation, we have investigated novel photoactivatable 4-diazocyclohexa-2,5-dienone derivatives as putative cholinergic agonists. Such compounds are fairly stable in the dark and generate highly reactive carbenic species on irradiation. In binding experiments using AChRs from Torpedo marmorata, these ligands had affinities for the ACh binding site in the micromolar range and did not interact with the noncompetitive blocker site (greater than millimolar affinity). Irreversible photoinactivation of ACh binding sites was obtained with the ligand 1b (up to 42% at 500 µM) in a protectable manner. In patch-clamp studies, 1b was shown to be a functional agonist of peripheral AChR in TE 671 cells, with the interesting property of exhibiting no or very little desensitization even at high concentrations.     

Organization of ligand binding sites at the acetylcholine receptor: a study with monoclonal antibodies

We have studied 20 monoclonal antibodies directed against both the solubilized and the membrane-bound receptor from Torpedo marmorata. We find the following: (i) Six of the antibodies compete with cholinergic ligands for receptor binding and, hence, are directed against the ligand binding regions. (ii) Of these six antibodies, two cross-react with receptor from Electrophorus electricus, rat myotubes, and chicken sympathetic ganglia. These two antibodies therefore define a preserved structure within the ligand binding regions. The other four antibodies bind to structures not common between the receptor preparations tested. (iii) From competition binding studies using internally 3H-labeled antibodies, nine nonoverlapping antigenic regions were defined at the surface of the receptor. Three of these regions overlap with the ligand binding regions. Since two of these three regions do not overlap with each other, two structurally distinct ligand binding regions must exist at the receptor. (iv) From competition binding studies with representative cholinergic ligands, the antibodies directed against the ligand binding regions can be subdivided into three groups: one group competes with all ligands tested; the second group competes with all ligands except the bismethonium compounds; the third group competes with all ligands except the bismethonium compounds and tubocurarine. The results are summarized in a model of the organization of ligand binding sites at the receptor: There are two ligand binding regions differing in their antigenic properties. Furthermore, either there exists separate sites for distinct groups of ligands within each of these binding regions or some ligands produce conformational changes of the receptor that reversibly abolish some antigenic sites. In any case, the cholinergic ligands must interact with the receptor by more and/or other structural determinants than are provided by the structure of acetylcholine.     

The use of specific ligands for the vertebrate acetylcholine receptor in the characterization of invertebrate acetylcholine receptors

1. The interaction of two specific ligands for the vertebrate nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were investigated on the solubilized form of a proposed acetylcholine receptor from the invertebrate Limulus polyphemus. 2. The affinity agent 4-(N-maleimodo)benzyltrimethylammonium iodide exhibited no effect on the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin to the Limulus receptor protein. 3. Torpedo acetylcholine receptor antibody neither inhibited alpha-bungarotoxin binding nor produced any alteration in the sedimentation profile of the Limulus receptor. 4. The lack of interaction of 4-(N-maleimido)benzyltrimethylammonium iodide and Torpedo acetylcholine receptor antibody with the Limulus acetylcholine receptor was interpreted to reflect significant difference between the molecular structures of this invertebrate receptor and the acetylcholine receptor of vertebrate.     

Ligand-induced changes in membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor observed by ethidium fluorescence. 2. Stopped-flow studies with agonists and antagonists.

The kinetics of cholinergic ligand binding to membrane-bound acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica have been followed in a stopped-flow photometer, by using the fluorescent probe ethidium. The overall reaction amplitude, as a function of ligand concentration, can be fit to the law of mass action for both agonist and antagonists. All agonists show at least biphasic kinetics, and the concentration dependence of the kinetic parameters is fit by a common mechanism involving sequential binding of ligands with increasingly lower affinity. The receptor-ligand precomplexes isomerize to different noninterconvertible final complexes depending on the number of ligands bound. In contrast, the kinetics observed with antagonists cannot be fit to a common model. These kinetics are always much slower than those observed with agonists, and the relaxation rates depend only weakly on antagonist concentration.     

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors have Ligand-Specific Attachment Point Patterns

Abstract

Employing a panel of synthetic peptides as representative structural elements of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo electric organ, we recently identified three sequence regions of the receptor (α55–74, α134–153 and α181–200) serving as subsites for the binding of high molecular weight antagonists of acetylcholine (Conti-Tronconi et al. 1990). The relative binding affinities to these subsites of α-bungarotoxin and three competitive antibodies varied in a ligand-specific fashion. Employing a set of homologous synthetic peptides differing from α181–200 by the exchange of single amino acid residues along the sequence, we now find that ligand binding crucially depends on the presence of particular amino acids within the subsite while others influence binding only marginally if at all. The existence of ligand-specific attachment points may account for the wide range in binding and kinetic parameters, pharmacological specificity and distinct mean open times of the receptor-integral cation channel observed for cholinergic ligands.     

Microscopic kinetics and energetics distinguish GABA(A) receptor agonists from antagonists

Although agonists and competitive antagonists presumably occupy overlapping binding sites on ligand-gated channels, these interactions cannot be identical because agonists cause channel opening whereas antagonists do not. One explanation is that only agonist binding performs enough work on the receptor to cause the conformational changes that lead to gating. This idea is supported by agonist binding rates at GABA(A) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors that are slower than expected for a diffusion-limited process, suggesting that agonist binding involves an energy-requiring event. This hypothesis predicts that competitive antagonist binding should require less activation energy than agonist binding. To test this idea, we developed a novel deconvolution-based method to compare binding and unbinding kinetics of GABA(A) receptor agonists and antagonists in outside-out patches from rat hippocampal neurons. Agonist and antagonist unbinding rates were steeply correlated with affinity. Unlike the agonists, three of the four antagonists tested had binding rates that were fast, independent of affinity, and could be accounted for by diffusion- and dehydration-limited processes. In contrast, agonist binding involved additional energy-requiring steps, consistent with the idea that channel gating is initiated by agonist-triggered movements within the ligand binding site. Antagonist binding does not appear to produce such movements, and may in fact prevent them.     

Direct measurement of agonist binding to genetically engineered peptides of the acetylcholine receptor by selective T1 NMR relaxation

Interactions of four ligands of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor with genetically engineered peptides have been studied by NMR. A recombinant cholinergic binding site was prepared as a fusion protein between a truncated form of the bacterial protein trpE and a peptide corresponding to the sequence alpha 184-200 from the Torpedo californica receptor. This construct binds alpha-bungarotoxin while the trpE protein alone does not, and thus serves as a negative control [Aronheim, A., Eshel, Y., Mosckovitz, R., & Gershoni, J. M. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 9933-9937]. In this study agonist binding to alpha 184-200 is demonstrated by monitoring the T1 relaxation of the ligand's protons in the presence and absence of the recombinant binding site. This binding is specific as it can be competed with alpha-bungarotoxin. Quantitative analyses of such competitions yielded the concentration of binding sites, which corresponded to 3.3% and 16.5% of the total protein, for partially purified and affinity-purified alpha 184-200 constructs, respectively. The KD values for the binding of acetylcholine, nicotine, d-tubocurarine, and gallamine to the affinity-purified construct were 1.4, 1.4, 0.20, and 0.21 mM, respectively, while KD's with the nontoxin binding protein were all above 10 mM. Thus, this is a direct demonstration that the toxin binding domain alpha 184-200 may comprise a major component of the cholinergic agonist site.