Purification of histamine receptor (VI). An improved double labeling method with "double protection"

Studies were done on the specific labeling of the histaminergic H1-receptor of the longitudinal smooth muscle of cat small intestine. A procedure involving 'double protection' combined with the double labeling technique was developed. The first protection was the usual with a protective antihistamine, promethazine, and the second was cross protection of non-specific sites with non-hitaminergic drugs, thioriazine and atropine. Muscle tissue protected with promethazine against non-radioactive dibenamine was treated with 3H-dibenamine in the presence of these second protectors. The second protectors covered non-receptor sites which had been protected from non-radioactive dibenamine with promethazine. The dose-response curves were carefully checked in each experiment to confirm that the second protectors did not interfere with the specific coverage provided by the first protector. Finally 14C-dibenamine was applied to measure non-specific binding after which the labeled muscles were fractionated and the radioactivity was counted. The specificity of labeling achieved in the receptor-rich fraction by this method is discussed.