In this paper, cholecystokinin (CCK) B-type binding sites were characterized with receptor binding studies in different human brain regions (various parts of cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, thalamus, cerebellar cortex) collected from 22 human post-mortem brains. With the exception of the thalamus, where no specific CCK binding sites were found, a pharmacological characterization demonstrated a single class of high affinity CCK sites in all brain areas investigated. Receptor densities ranged from 0.5 fmol/mg protein (hippocampus) to 8.4 fmol/mg protein (nucleus caudatus). These CCK binding sites displayed a typical CCK B binding profile as shown in competition studies by using different CCK-related compounds and non-peptide CCK antagonists discriminating between CCK A and CCK B sites. The rank order of agonist or antagonist potency in inhibiting specific sulphated [propionyl- 3H]cholecystokinin octapeptide binding was similar and highly correlated for the brain regions investigated as demonstrated by a computer-assisted analysis. Therefore it is concluded that CCK B binding sites in human cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellar cortex share identical ligand binding characteristics.
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