ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC LOCALIZATION OF [ALPHA-BUNGAROTOXIN-I-125 BINDING-SITES IN THE OUTER PLEXIFORM LAYER OF THE GOLDFISH RETINA

Light and electron microscope autoradiography were performed on goldfish (Carassius auratus) retinas incubated in [125I] labelled α-bungarotoxin. The toxin was bound preferentially to membrane receptors in the inner and outer plexiform layers. Binding was suppressed by 10-5 M nicotine or 10-5 M native α-bungarotoxin. Electron microscopic analysis of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) strongly suggested that α-bungarotoxin binding sites were located on small bipolar cell dendritic processes that invaginated rod and cone synaptic terminals, and on large bipolar cell dendritic processes more proximally situated in the OPL. Large horizontal cell processes in the OPL and horizontal cell processes that invaginated rod and cone synaptic terminals did not appear to be labelled. © 1979 Chapman and Hall Ltd.