PS271 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Nmda Receptor, Autoradiograph, Immunocytochemistry
Document Summary
Antibodies can bind tightly to specific sites on the foreign molecule such as the transmitter candidate. Is also useful for confirming that a cell synthesizes a particular protein or peptide: recall: proteins are assembled by the ribosomes according to instructions from specific mrna molecules. Immunocytochemistry is a method for viewing the location of specific molecules, including proteins, in sections of brain tissue. In situ hybridization is a method for localizing specific mrna transcripts for proteins: both methods put together, enable us to see whether a neuron contains and synthesizes a transmitter candidate. Studying transmitter release: most regions of the outer central nervous system (cns) contain a diverse mixture of intermingled synapses using different neurotransmitters, read pg. 137-138: a unique mrna molecule for every polypeptide is synthesized by a neuron. This technique for viewing the distribution of radioactivity is called autoradiography. Kainite receptors: each named for a diff. chemical agonist, the neurotransmitter glutamate activates all 3 receptor subtypes.
