Binding of the radiolabeled glycine site antagonist [3H]MDL 105,519 to homomeric NMDA-NR1a receptors.

We have characterized the binding of [3H]MDL 105,519 ((E)-3-(2-phenyl-2-carboxyethenyl)-4,6-dichloro-1 H-indole-2-carboxylic acid), a NMDA receptor glycine recognition site antagonist, to homomeric NMDA subunit 1a (NR 1a) receptors. Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) were transfected with the rat NR 1a gene and cell lines stably expressing the receptor were isolated from amongst clones resistant to the neomycin analog G418. Saturation analysis indicated that the radioligand bound to the homomeric receptor with a similar high affinity (Kd = 1.8 nM) to that reported for the native receptor. The binding capacity (Bmax) was 370 fmol/mg protein reflecting approximately 110000 receptors per cell. The radioligand interacted with a single class of binding sites as indicated by linear Scatchard transformation of the saturation data and a unitary Hill slope in competition experiments. Thus, the MDL 105,519 recognition site is present on the NR 1a subunit and has similar radioligand binding properties to the native brain-derived receptor. However, pharmacologic characterization of [3H]MDL 105,519 binding indicated that agonists were weaker competitors at the homometric receptor relative to the native receptors. In contrast, representative of three distinct chemical classes of glycine site antagonists exhibited similar potencies at both types of binding sites.