Determination of the functional size of oxytocin receptors in plasma membranes from mammary gland and uterine myometrium of the rat by radiation inactivation.

Gel filtration of detergent-solubilized oxytocin (OT) receptors in plasma membrane fractions from both regressed mammary gland and labor myometrium of the rat, showed that specific [3H]OT binding was associated with a heterogeneously sized population of macromolecules. As radiation inactivation is the only method available to measure the apparent molecular weights of membrane proteins in situ, we used this approach to define the functional sizes of OT receptors. The results indicate that both mammary and myometrial receptors are uniform in size and of similar molecular mass. Mammary and myometrial receptors were estimated to be 57.5 +/- 3.8 (SD) and 58.8 +/- 1.6 kilodaltons, respectively. Knowledge of the functional size of OT receptors will be useful in studies involving the purification and characterization of the receptor and associated membrane components.