ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the transport of receptors within the vagus, identify the mechanisms by which this transport is carried out, and reviews the available information on which receptor populations are contained and transported in both the efferent and afferent limbs of the vagus nerve. The original estimate suggested that the opiate receptors were moving at a range of 3 to 4 mm per hour, suggesting that transport was taking place by a mechanism of fast axonal transport. The remainder of the chapter focuses on vagal receptor transport. It reviews the available information on these peptide receptors. The chapter addresses the issue of whether the peripheral transport of cholecystokinin (CCK) binding sites occurs in afferent or efferent fibers by examining the effect of unilateral supraor infraganglionic vagotomy on the vagal transport of CCK receptors. Furthermore, time course studies have demonstrated that the rate of accumulation of binding sites at a ligature point is consistent with a mechanism of fast axonal transport.
