INCORPORATION OF ACETYLCHOLINE-RECEPTORS AND CL- CHANNELS IN XENOPUS OOCYTES INJECTED WITH TORPEDO ELECTROPLAQUE MEMBRANES

A method,vas developed to transplant assembled nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AcChoRs) and Cl- channels from the electric organ of Torpe do to the membrane of Xenopus oocytes. Membrane vesicles from Torpedo electroplaques were injected into the oocytes and, within a few hours, the oocyte membrane acquired AcChoRs and Cl- channels. The mechanism of expression of these receptors and channels is very different from t hat which follows the injection of mRNA, since the appearance of recep tors after membrane injection does not require de novo protein synthes is or N-glycosylation. This, and other controls, indicate that the For eign receptor-bearing membranes fuse with the oocyte membrane and caus e the appearance of functional receptors and channels. All this makes the Xenopus oocyte an even more powerful tool for studies of the struc ture and function of membrane proteins.