The shapes of sensory and motor neurones and the distribution of their synapses in ganglia of the leech: a study using intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase

Abstract

When poly(A)$^{+}$-mRNA, extracted from rat brain, was injected into Xenopus laevis oocytes, it induced the appearance of serotonin receptors in the oocyte membrane. Application of serotonin to injected oocytes elicited, after a long delay, oscillations in membrane current. The equilibrium potential of this current corresponded with the chloride equilibrium potential. It appears that rat brain mRNA encodes the translation of serotonin receptors into the oocyte membrane. The combination of serotonin with these receptors leads to the opening of membrane channels.