Distribution and Transmembrane Organization of Glycine Receptors at Central Synapses: an Immunocytochemical Touch

Abstract

Immunocytochemistry now provides a powerful tool to address questions as (1) the exact localization of central receptors in relation to their corresponding sites of transmitter release and (2) the transmembrane organization of the determinants recognized by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). It overcomes the lack of specific ligands such as a-bungarotoxine, which permitted the structure of peripheral acetylcholine receptors to be unraveled (ref. in Changeux et al. 1984). The problem of raising and characterizing mAbs against identified antigens, such as those directed against the glycine receptors (ref. in Graham et al. 1985) which were used for this work remains. Glycine is a neurotransmitter ubiquitously distributed in the CNS, where it produces a Cr-dependent postsynaptic inhibition; the similarity of our results obtained with these mAbs in two different structures of phylogenetically remote species allow us to postulate the generality of our observations.