The benzodiazepine/GABA receptor complex: molecular size in brain synaptic membranes and in solution.

The molecular size of the benzodiazepine (BZ) receptor in the synaptic membrane of brain cortex (bovine or rat) was determined by an improved version of the radiation inactivation method to be 220,000. An identical size was found simultaneously for the associated gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor and for the component binding beta-carboline esters. It is proposed that all three activities reside in a single protein or protein complex in the membrane. The size in solution, after extraction into Triton X-100 medium from exhaustively washed membranes, was estimated by sedimentation constant (9.4S) and by gel filtration ( approximately 230,000 apparent MW), again with the BZ and GABA binding activities behaving identically. This size applies to the component that undergoes photoaffinity labelling by [3H]flunitrazepam in the membrane, and contains a 51,000 Mr polypeptide as the BZ-binding subunit. It is concluded that a protein complex or oligomer of 200,000-220,000 MW carries a class of BZ-binding sites and an associated class of GABAA sites.