Abstract
Characterization of the levamisole receptor was performed with total extracts of Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae using binding assays with tritiated levamisole ([3H]LEV, 291 GBq/mmol). We detected a specific [3H]LEV binding activity with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 4.76 μM and a receptor density (Bmax) of 2.14 pmol/mg of protein. In inhibition studies, only dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide (DMPP) and hexamethonium were found to be competitive inhibitors of the [3H]LEV binding with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 31.04 and 4.43 μM, respectively, whereas d-tubocurarine and α-bungarotoxine had no effect on [3H]LEV binding activity, and procaine and atropine potentiated the [3H]LEV-receptor binding. All these data support the idea that levamisole acts as a cholinergic agonist in T. spiralis.
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Received: 6 April 1998 / Accepted: 24 April 1998
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Jiménez-González, A., Ros-Moreno, R., Moreno-Guzmán, M. et al. Characterization of levamisole binding sites in Trichinella spiralis . Parasitol Res 84, 757–759 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004360050482
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004360050482