Receptors for Amines, Amino Acids and Peptides: Biochemical Characterization and Microscopic Localization

Abstract

Receptors are defined as the structures which recognize hormones and neurotransmitters, and initiate their biological effects. The concept of receptor was introduced in pharmacology by Langley at the end of the last century. Later, it was further developed by Ehrlich and Langley during the first decade of the 1900s. Since then, the concept of receptor has formed the basis of the development of a rational pharmacology. Receptors have been rather hypothetical entities until relatively recently. The development of new biochemical and biophysical methods and their application to the study of receptors have, however, led to the establishment of the receptor as a real, molecular entity. The solubilization and purification of the nicotinic cholinergic receptor protein signaled the beginning of the era of molecular biology of receptors. This chapter briefly reviews two aspects of the current research in brain receptors: the biochemical characterization and the microscopic localization of receptors for amine, amino acid and peptide neurotransmitters.