Abstract
CONCANAVALIN A (con A), a tetrameric lectin which binds to specific carbohydrate residues1, has been used in the purification of a glutamate-binding glycoprotein isolated from rat brain synaptosomes2, and has been shown to alter the isotherm describing the binding of α-bungarotoxin to acetylcholine receptors on rat skeletal muscle3. Complementary electrophysiological studies on the effect of con A on intact receptor-bearing membranes are, as yet, lacking. We present here evidence that con A abolishes the desensitisation normally observed during repeated iontophoretic application of L-glutamate, the putative excitatory transmitter, to two populations of L-glutamate receptors on locust skeletal muscle fibres.
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MATHERS, D., USHERWOOD, P. Concanavalin A blocks desensitisation of glutamate receptors on insect muscle fibres. Nature 259, 409–411 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/259409a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/259409a0
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