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Differential localization of type I and type II benzodiazepine binding sites in substantia nigra

Nature volume 306, pages 57–60 (1983)Cite this article

Abstract

A number of studies have suggested the existence of multiple benzodiazepine binding sites in the brain1–20. We have recently reported the physical separation of two apparent benzodiazepine binding site subtypes21, the pharmacological properties, and distribution in tissue sections of which correspond to the putative type I and type II sites20,22. Benzodiazepine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors have been shown to interact23, and lesions of the GABAergic striatonigral pathway, which lead to GABA supersensitivity24,25, both increase the numbers of GABA binding sites24,26 and enhance GABA-stimulated benzodiazepine binding27. We demonstrate here that degeneration of striatonigral fibres increases the density of putative type I benzodiazepine binding sites in the substantia nigra and decreases the density of the putative type II sites. This suggests that type I sites that increase after denervation are postsynaptic, whereas the type II sites reduced by the lesion may be localized to axons or terminals of the striatonigral pathways.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA

    Mathew M. S. Lo, Debra L. Niehoff, Michael J. Kuhar & Solomon H. Snyder

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  1. Mathew M. S. Lo
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  2. Debra L. Niehoff
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  3. Michael J. Kuhar
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  4. Solomon H. Snyder
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Lo, M., Niehoff, D., Kuhar, M. et al. Differential localization of type I and type II benzodiazepine binding sites in substantia nigra. Nature 306, 57–60 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/306057a0

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