Autoradiographic localization and characterization of [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide binding to serotonin receptors in Aplysia.

The sensitive serotonergic radioligand 2-[125I]lysergic acid diethylamide was used to study the distribution and pharmacological binding properties of serotonin receptors in Aplysia californica. The high specific activity of this radioligand allowed us to develop a methodology for the investigation of receptor binding properties and receptor distribution in a single ganglion. [125I]Lysergic acid diethylamide labels a population of high-affinity serotonergic sites (Kd = 0.41 nM) in Aplysia ganglia whose regional distribution matches that expected from previous electrophysiological and immunohistochemical studies. The properties of [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide binding sites in Aplysia are in general agreement with previous studies on [3H]lysergic acid diethylamide binding in this system but these sites differ from the serotonergic receptor subtypes described in the mammalian brain. Guanine nucleotides were shown to modulate agonist but not antagonist affinity for the [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide binding site in Aplysia, suggesting that this site is coupled to a G-protein. Images of serotonin receptor distribution in the Aplysia nervous system were obtained from autoradiograms of [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide binding. Serotonin receptors in ganglia tissue sections are located primarily within the neuropil. In addition, a subset of neuronal soma are specifically labeled by [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide. These studies indicate that [125I]lysergic acid diethylamide binds to sites in the Aplysia nervous system which display a regional distribution, pharmacological binding properties and evidence of coupling to a G-protein consistent with labeling of a subset of functional serotonin receptors. In addition, the techniques used in this investigation provide a general approach for rapidly characterizing the pharmacological properties and anatomical distribution of receptor binding sites in single invertebrate ganglia. Individual neurons containing these receptor subtypes can be identified by these methods and correlated with physiological responses in the same cell.