Dopamine agonist high-affinity state in solubilized D2 receptors in striatum, but not in anterior pituitary

To determine whether brain and pituitary dopamine D2 receptors have similar characteristics on solubilization, canine striatal and bovine anterior pituitary tissues were solubilized with digitonin, and their D2 dopamine receptors were characterized by competition studies and by high pressure liquid chromatography. Solubilized striatal membranes retained the ability to bind agonists with high affinity and retained sensitivity to guanine nucleotides. In contrast, however, solubilized pituitary membranes no longer revealed high-affinity binding of agonists and sensitivity to guanine nucleotide unless they had been solubilized in the presence of agonist. Agonist-pre-labelled pituitary receptors were of larger apparent molecular weight than antagonist-pre-labelled receptors. However, striatal receptors pre-labelled by agonist or antagonist were of similar apparent molecular weight. Thus, unlike the pituitary, striatal receptors probably remain associated with a guanine nucleotide binding protein (N) upon solubilization.