Studies of the binding of [3H]acetylcholine to receptor-rich membranes of Torpedo californica electric organ under conditions that normally iead to a state of equilibrium did not give rise to equilibrium binding curves. Instead, the acetylcholine receptor was found to develop very long lived metastable states resulting in hysteresis in binding. Under conditions where the concentration of free [3H]acetylcholine is both less than 0.1 NM and smaller or comparable to the total receptor concentration, the degree of binding of acetylcholine depends on the rate, Le., the mode, of increasing the acetylcholine concentration (rapid mixing vs. dialysis). The equilibrium positive cooperativity in high-affinity acetylcholine binding previously inferred from the data is deceiving; the curvature in Scatchard representations is a consequence of long-lived nonequilibrium distributions between high-affinity and lower affinity receptor conformers. By manipulation of the experimental conditions, true equilibrium binding, resulting in a linear Scatchard binding curve, was obtained and yielded the apparent equilibrium constant, K = 5 f 1 nM at 4 OC.The stoichiometry of the high-affinity site associated with this K value was found to be one acetylcholine per receptor monomer ( M , 250 000) when carefully standardized [3H]-acetylcholine analyzed for both radiopurity and acetylcholine concentration was used. While our fresh membrane fragments prepared in the presence of 4 mM Ca2+ revealed up to twice as many '251-a-bungarotoxin sites in 0.1% nonionic detergent relative to those assayed in the absence of detergent, nonionic %e binding of acetylcholine (AcCh)' (A in equations and schemes) by the acetylcholine receptor (AcChR; R in equations and schemes) is a key reaction in the chemical control of the bioelectric excitation of cholinergic membranes [for monographs, see Nachmansohn (1959) and Katz (1 969)]. The nicotinic AcChR protein of fish electric organs, which regulates the rapid Na+-K+ fluxes through the electroplax membranes, exhibits major conformational variability consistent with its functional properties [for recent reviews, see Karlin (1980), Changeux (1 98 l), Adams (198 l), Conti-Tronconi & Raftery (1982) and Taylor et al. (1983)l. Electrophysiological data from frog neuromuscular junctions, which in their electrical-chemical behavior are similar to that of fsh electric organs, suggested that the AcChR channel coexists in at least two conformational states prior to any AcCh binding: an activatable resting state (RJ and an inactivated desensitized state (Rh) with a binding affinity for AcCh that is higher than that 0006-2960/84/0423-4546$01.50/0 detergent treatment of membrane fragments did not result in any change in total available acetylcholine binding sites. Therefore, we favor the interpretation either that the detergent loosens the membrane and exposes a second sterically hindered a-toxin binding site or that it increases its affinity. Our [3H]acetylcholine binding data with solubilized and purified acetylchol...