The postsynaptic membrane of vertebrate neuromuscular synapses is enriched in the four subunits of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and in a peripheral membrane protein of Mr = 43 x 10(3) (43K). Although AChRs are virtually restricted to the postsynaptic membrane of innervated adult muscle, developing and denervated adult muscle contain AChRs at nonsynaptic regions. These nonsynaptic AChRs accumulate because the level of mRNA encoding AChR subunits increases in response to a loss of muscle cell electrical activity. We have determined the level of mRNA encoding the 43K subsynaptic protein in developing muscle and in innervated and denervated adult muscle. We isolated a cDNA that encodes the entire protein-coding region of the 43K subsynaptic protein from Torpedo electric organ and used this cDNA to isolate a cDNA that encodes the 43K subsynaptic protein from Xenopus laevis. We used the Xenopus cDNA to measure the level of transcript encoding the 43K protein in embryonic muscle and in innervated and denervated adult muscle by RNase protection. The level of transcript encoding the 43K protein is low in innervated adult muscle and increases 25- to 30-fold after denervation. The level of transcript encoding the alpha subunit of the AChR increases to a similar extent after denervation. Moreover, during development, transcripts encoding the 43K protein and the alpha subunit are expressed initially at late gastrula and are present in similar quantities in embryonic muscle. These results demonstrate that transcripts encoding the 43K protein and AChR subunits appear coordinately during embryonic development and that the level of mRNA encoding the 43K protein is regulated by denervation.