Loss of beta-adrenoceptor binding sites in rat striatum following kainic acid lesions.

Intrastriatal injection of kainic acid (5 nmoles) to rats led to severe destruction of nerve cell bodies throughout the caudate-putamen complex and an extensive proliferation of glial cells. Lesioned striata displayed a significant 23% loss of beta-adrenoceptor binding sites 21--24 days after injection of kainic acid. Further analysis of these changes revealed that this loss of sites was selectively within the beta 1 receptor population. Although these results do not rule out a partial glial cell localisation for beta-adrenoceptors, they do indicate that at least a proportion of beta 1 receptors are present on striatal perikarya.