HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Anderson, M. J. Articles by Cohen, M. W. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Anderson, M. J. Articles by Cohen, M. W.

1. -Bungarotoxin was labelled with fluorescent dyes and used as a stain for visualizing the distribution of acetylcholine receptors in vertebrate skeletal muscle fibres.

2. Dye-toxin conjugates had the same pharmacological properties as native toxin, but their potencies were lower.

3. Fluorescent staining was examined in teased muscle fibres. The stain was found to be confined to the neuromuscular junction and associated with the subsynaptic membrane.

4. Staining intensity was reduced by curare and even more so by carbachol, but not by atropine or neostigmine. Pre-treatment of muscles with unlabelled -bungarotoxin entirely prevented staining.

5. The staining at amphibian neuromuscular junctions was characterized by a pattern of intense transverse bands occurring at intervals of approximately 0·5-1 µm, with fluorescence of lower intensity between them. Fluorescent staining was not detected on adjacent, extrasynaptic, muscle membrane. In side views the staining appeared as a fine line with small protuberances occurring at the same intervals as the intense bands seen face-on. These results indicate that acetylcholine receptors are associated with the entire subsynaptic membrane, including the membrane of the junctional folds and that their density changes abruptly at the border between synaptic and extrasynaptic muscle membrane.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. B. Friese, C. S. Blagden, and S. J. Burden Synaptic differentiation is defective in mice lacking acetylcholine receptor {beta}-subunit tyrosine phosphorylation Development, December 1, 2007; 134(23): 4167 - 4176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Z. Konakci, J. Streicher, W. Hoetzenecker, M. J. F. Blumer, J.-R. Lukas, and R. Blumer Molecular Characteristics Suggest an Effector Function of Palisade Endings in Extraocular Muscles Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., January 1, 2005; 46(1): 155 - 165. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-R. Lukas, R. Blumer, M. Denk, I. Baumgartner, W. Neuhuber, and R. Mayr Innervated Myotendinous Cylinders in Human Extraocular Muscles Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., August 1, 2000; 41(9): 2422 - 2431. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				M. W. Cohen, B. G. Hoffstrom, and D. W. DeSimone Active Zones on Motor Nerve Terminals Contain alpha 3beta 1 Integrin J. Neurosci., July 1, 2000; 20(13): 4912 - 4921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. B. Peng, H. Xie, S. G. Rossi, and R. L. Rotundo Acetylcholinesterase Clustering at the Neuromuscular Junction Involves Perlecan and Dystroglycan J. Cell Biol., May 17, 1999; 145(4): 911 - 921. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Daly, C. M. Milligan, G. Milligan, J. F. Mackenzie, and J. C. Mcgrath Cellular Localization and Pharmacological Characterization of Functioning Alpha-1 Adrenoceptors by Fluorescent Ligand Binding and Image Analysis Reveals Identical Binding Properties of Clustered and Diffuse Populations of Receptors J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., August 1, 1998; 286(2): 984 - 990. [Abstract] [Full Text]