Properties of Putative Nicotinic and Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors in the Central Nervous System of Locusta Migratoria

Nervous tissue preparations from Locusta migratoria specifically bind potent nicotinic (?-bungarotoxin) and muscarinic (quinuclidinyl benzilate) ligands. Binding properties and pharmacological data indicate that the central nervous system of the locust contains at least two distinct classes of receptors. Subcellular fractionation experiments revealed that the receptor activity is enriched in the synaptosomal fraction. In the head as well as in the thoracic ganglia the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were found to be much more abundant than the muscarinic binding sites; whereas in mouse brain the muscarinic receptor type predominates.