Topographical studies of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

All four subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in membrane vesicles isolated from Torpedo californica have been labeled with the photoactivated hydrophobic probe, [3H]adamantanediazirine, which selectively labels regions of integral membrane proteins in contact with the hydrocarbon core of the lipid bilayer. All four subunits of the acetylcholine receptor in membrane vesicles isolated from Torpedo californica have been labeled with [3H]cholesteryl diazoacetate. As this probe incorporates into lipid bilayers analogously to cholesterol, this result indicates that acetylcholine receptor interacts with cholesterol. Since the photogenerated carbene is situated near the lipid-water interface, this probe has potential as a topographic tool for mapping membrane protein structure. The labeling studies with both [3H]adamantanediazirine and [3H]cholesteryl diazoacetate support the concept that the acetylcholine receptor is a pseudosymmetric complex of homologous subunits, all of which interact with and span the membrane. The synthesis of the fluorine-containing agonists for the Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, fluoroacetylcholine bromide and p-fluorophenyltrimethylammonium iodide, are described. It is demonstrated that both are agonists using a cation flux assay with acetylcholine receptor enriched membrane vesicles. The affinity cleavage reagent, p-thiocyanophenyltrimethylammonium iodide, specifically cleaves a peptide bond of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in membrane vesicles isolated from Torpedo californica. It is demonstrated that this reagent is an agonist using a cation flux assay. The cleavage is blocked by stoichiometric quantities of α-bungarotoxin