THE COMPLEX BINDING OF γ-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID TO A RAT BRAIN SYNAPTIC MEMBRANE PREPARATION

The association of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with rat brain synaptic membranes is complex and involves more than one set of binding sites. This fact is suggested by the form of experimentally determined binding curves and confirmed by the destruction of one set of homogenous sites by covalent modifications with iodine. The difference in binding of GABA by two sets of membranes which have been exhaustively iodinated in the presence and absence of an excess of GABA corresponds to 1/6 of the binding expressed by uniodinated membranes after equilibration with 0.25 μm -GABA. This difference appears to be the result of the expression of a homogeneous set of independent sites, each of which contains an iodinatable'residue that is protected by bound GABA. Examination of the factors leading to the retention of radioactive ligand by a synaptic membrane preparation is suggestive of a method for determining the maximum number of binding sites for a given ligand and for evaluating solution space without displacing the bound species or adding a presumably inert tracer. Three additional measurements of retention of high ligand concentration are shown to be sufficient for the determination. Employment of the method facilitates the investigation of the interaction of the membrane preparations with individual agonists and antagonists.