Effects of enucleations and visual deprivation on adenosine A1 and A2 receptor binding in superior colliculus of rat

Adenosine receptors of A1 and A2 subtypes on retino-collicular projections in rat were studied using [3H]cyclohexyladenosine ([3H]CHA), [3H]N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine ([3H]NECA), and [3H]CGS 21680. Unilateral enucleation significantly reduced by 51% [3H]CHA binding to A1 sites, and by 42% the A1 component of [3H]NECA binding in contralateral SC. The binding of [3H]CGS 21680 and [3H]NECA to A2 sites was not significantly affected by enucleation procedures. No significant reductions in adenosine receptor binding were observed in SC from rats exposed to a dark environment for three weeks. The reductions in A1 but not A2 adenosine receptor binding strongly suggests that A1 sites are presynaptically located on retinal projections and are vulnerable to deafferentiation-, but not visual deprivation-induced decreases.