The main long term objective of the proposed research is to study the distribution and expression of cell surface ion channels and neurotransmitter-activated receptors in the nervous system and o muscle cells, and to determine how these are regulated during development and in the adult. The specific research aims are to: 1) expand the newly developed technique of scanning electron microscope autoradiography for use with soluble (non-cross-linkable) probes; 2) apply both scanning and transmission EM autoradiography first to study acetylcholine receptors on neurons from different parts of the central nervous system, and voltage sensitive sodium channels on the surface of both muscles and nerve cells; and 3) combine the autoradiographic procedures with molecular biology techniques to examine the level of control exerted by nerve and nerve factors on the expression and clustering of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in vertebrate muscle. Both tissue cultured and accutely dissociated cells will be used, and the surface molecules will be labeled with both cross-linkable and soluble probes to test the validity of the procedures. Since the interactions between cells of the nervous system underlie a wide variety of mental and emotional processes, information on the quantitative distribution of the molecules involved in those interactions should provide a wider understanding of the mechanisms involved.
