Regional distribution of high affinity binding of 3H-adenosine in rat brain.

The high and low affinity adenosine binding sites with Kd values ranging respectively from 0.8 to 1.65 microM and from 3.1 to 13.86 microM were demonstrated in the following rat brain areas: cortex, hippocampus, striatum, cerebellum, diencephalon, and pons-medulla. Adenosine receptors involved in the high affinity binding seem to be mainly Ra-type. The analysis of the regional distribution of 3H-Adenosine showed the highest levels of specific binding in striatum and hippocampus; somewhat smaller values in cortex, cerebellum, and diencephalon, and even lower in pons-medulla.