Reconstitution of solubilised brain D2 dopamine receptors into phospholipid vesicles

D2 dopamine receptors have been solubilised from bovine caudate nucleus using cholate/sodium chloride in the presence of soyabean phospholipid. Reconstitution of the receptors into soyabean phospholipid vesicles has been achieved by dialysis to remove detergent and salt. The receptors are truly reconstituted as judged by sedimentation, electron microscopy, heat stability and analysis on sucrose density gradients. The ligand-binding properties of the reconstituted receptors resemble those of the solubilised preparation.