Sizes of opioid receptor types in rat brain membranes

The sizes of the receptors binding opiates and enkephalins in rat brain membranes were investigated by the radiation inactivation technique. By comparison with enzymes of known size added as internal standards, the mu and delta binding sites both gave a molecular weight of about 110000. Other opiate-binding components, which may include the kappa site, showed a much lower rate of inactivation when in reducing conditions, implying a subunit molecular weight of the order of 30000 for such a site.