Effects of the 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT on food intake in food-deprived rats.

The effects of 8-OH-DPAT were investigated on food intake in food-deprived rats in both non-operant and operant feeding paradigms. 8-OH-DPAT produced dose-related reductions in food intake in both paradigms. While the higher doses of 8-OH-DPAT used in this study (i.e. 125-500 micrograms kg-1) produced a number of stereotyped behaviours which may have interfered with normal feeding, these behaviours were not apparent with the lower doses (i.e. 15.625-62.5 micrograms kg-1) which also depressed food-intake. The results of this study thus suggest that the inhibitory effect of 8-OH-DPAT on feeding in food-deprived rats is not secondary to the induction of stereotypy.     

Partial agonistic activity of R- and S-enantiomers of 8-OH-DPAT at 5-HT1A receptors.

In this study, the 5-HT1A agonistic activity of R- and S-enantiomers of the prototypical 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT was investigated using in vivo microiontophoresis and the hypothermic response in rats. Both the R- and S-enantiomers suppressed current-dependently the firing activity of dorsal hippocampus CA3 pyramidal neurons. The number of spikes suppressed/nA of R-(+)-OH-DPAT was about 2-fold greater than that of S-(-)-OH-DPAT, which indicates greater agonistic activity of the R-enantiomer. The determination of the effectiveness of 5-HT in suppressing the firing activity of CA3 pyramidal neurons prior to and during application of either the R- or S-enantiomer showed that both compounds antagonized the effect of 5-HT, thus demonstrating their partial agonistic activity. Racemic 8-OH-DPAT produced a dose-dependent hypothermia which was attenuated by the 5-HT1A antagonist pindolol, but not by the nonselective 5-HT antagonist methysergide. Similarly, both R- and S-enantiomers induced a dose-dependent hypothermia, which was greater and longer lasting in the case of R-(+)-OH-DPAT when compared to S-(-)-OH-DPAT. In conclusion, R-(+)-OH-DPAT, displayed a greater agonistic activity at 5-HT1A receptors than S-(-)-OH-DPAT, both in suppressing firing activity of CA3 pyramidal neurons and in decreasing body temperature. Nevertheless, both compounds behaved as partial agonists.     

5-羟色胺1A受体激动剂8-OH-DPAT改善帕金森病运动并发症的实验研究

目的 探讨5-羟色胺1A(5-HT1A)受体激动剂8-OH-DPAT对左旋多巴诱发的运动并发症的细胞学与行为学效应.方法 通过6-羟基多巴胺立体定向注射至大鼠前脑内侧前脑束建立帕金森病(Parkinson disease,PD)动物模型.对模型成功的PD大鼠进行两套实验:第1套实验中3组PD大鼠接受每日2次左旋多巴甲酯(50 mg/kg加12.5 mg/kg苄丝肼)腹腔注射,持续22 d.在第23天左旋多巴注射前,3组PD大鼠先分别接受8-OH-DPAT、8-OH-DPAT+5-羟色胺1A(5-HT1A)受体阻断剂WAY-100635(0.1 mg/kg)及溶剂对照注射;第2套实验中2组PD大鼠每日2次分别接受左旋多巴/苄丝肼+8-OH-DPAT与左旋多巴/苄丝肼+溶剂,持续22 d.评估旋转时间、关期发生频率情况;采用蛋白印迹法检测纹状体区谷氨酸受体1(GluR1)亚细胞分布及GluR1的845位丝氨酸(GluR1Ser845)磷酸化的表达情况.结果 8-OH-DPAT逆转了左旋多巴所诱导的PD大鼠旋转时间的缩短,延长约27.8%±6.1%;并使关期发生频率减少约7.2%±1.7%.5-HT1A受体阻断剂WAY-100635与8-OH-DPAT联合应用则消除了8-OH-DPAT的效应,提示所观察到的8-OH-DPAT的效应是通过5-HT1A受体起作用的.此外,8-OH-DPAT能调节与运动并发症密切相关的GluR1的亚细胞分布,且使GluR1Ser845的磷酸化水平降低约22.1%±3.5%.结论 激动5-HT1A受体的药物可能是治疗及预防PD运动并发症有益的疗法.     

Progesterone attenuates the effect of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT,and of mild restraint on lordosis behavior

Ovariectomized, hormone-primed rats were used to test the hypothesis that progesterone treatment attenuated the effects of the 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist, (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), on female rat lordosis behavior. Based upon prior evidence that prepriming with estradiol benzoate (EB) reduced the ability of 8-OH-DPAT to inhibit lordosis behavior, rats were preprimed with 10 microg EB 7 days before a second priming with 10 microg EB followed 48 h later with 500 microg progesterone or vehicle. Independent of the presence of progesterone, prepriming with EB attenuated the lordosis-inhibiting effects of systemic treatment with 8-OH-DPAT. However, progesterone also reduced the effects of 8-OH-DPAT and this effect was also seen in females primed only once with EB. In contrast, progesterone was relatively ineffective in attenuating the effects of bilateral infusion with 8-OH-DPAT into the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN). The failure of progesterone to substantially reduce the effects of VMN infusion with 8-OH-DPAT contrasts with prior studies in which estrogen's protective action against the drug did include the VMN. Thus, while both estrogen and progesterone reduce the lordosis-inhibiting effect of 8-OH-DPAT, the mechanisms responsible for the effects of the two gonadal hormones may be different. Priming with progesterone also prevented the effects of 5 min of restraint. When rats were hormonally primed with EB and oil, rats showed a transient, but significant, decline in lordosis behavior 5 and 10 min after restraint. Rats primed with EB and progesterone were unaffected by the restraint. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the role of progesterone in altering the 5-HT(1A) receptor modulation of lordosis behavior.     

Hippocampal asymmetry in the behavioral responses to the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT

The present study examined the behavioral responses of rats to unilateral and bilateral injections of the selective serotonin 1A (5-HT1A)-receptor agonist 8-hydroxydipropylaminotetralin hydrobromide (8-OH-DPAT) 1 μg into the hippocampal CA1 area of male Wistar rats. 8-OH-DPAT increased locomotor activity, which was most pronounced with injections into the left hippocampus. The agonist impaired learning and memory (shuttle-☐), especially when injected into the right hippocampus. The elevated plus-maze experiments showed that neither left nor right nor bilateral hippocampal injections of 8-OH-DPAT produced any anxiogenic effect. However, with Vogel's conflict test, right injections of 8-OH-DPAT produced anxiety. The present study has revealed hippocampal asymmetry in the behavioral responses to the 5-HT1A-receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT.     

Role of 5-HT1A receptors in the mediation of acute citalopram effects: a 8-OH-DPAT challenge study

(1) The study was aimed to investigate the effects of the minimal effective doses of acute citalopram (5 mg/kg), (+/-)-8-hydroxydipropylaminotetralin HBr (8-OH-DPAT; 0.1 mg/kg), and their combined treatment on the rat open field and forced swimming behaviour and post-mortem monoamine content. (2) The animals were prospectively divided into the vehicle- and para-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA)-pretreated (350 mg/kg) groups. (3) Acute citalopram (5 mg/kg), 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg), or their combined treatment had no major effect on the rat open field and forced swimming behaviour. (4) The post-mortem catecholamine content in four brain regions studied was unchanged in all treatment groups. (5) The combined 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) and citalopram (5 mg/kg) treatment partially reversed the p-CPA-induced decrease of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxy-indolacetic acid (5-HIAA) content. (6) The present experiments demonstrate that the 5-HT1A receptors mediate some of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)-induced biochemical phenomena.     

5-HT1A agonists and dopamine: the effects of 8-OH-DPAT and buspirone on brain-stimulation reward

Summary Two specific 5-HT_1A agonists, 8-OH-DPAT (0–300 g/kg), and buspirone (0–3.0 mg/kg), were tested on variable-interval, threshold-current self-stimulation of rat lateral hypothalamus. Buspirone produced a prolonged monotonic depression of responding, whereas the effects of 8-OH-DPAT were biphasic: 3.0 g/kg produced a sustained enhancement of responding while higher doses (100–300 g/kg) produced a relatively short-lasting depression. This biphasic pattern parallels previously reported effects of 8-OH-DPAT on food intake and on various other behaviours. Threshold-current self-stimulation is highly sensitive to alterations in dopaminergic transmission but relatively insensitive to changes in 5-HT. Thus the facilitatory effect of low-dose 8-OH-DPAT seems most plausibly interpreted in terms of enhanced dopaminergic transmission. This could be brought about by 5HT_1A autoreceptor-mediated inhibition of 5-HT release and consequent disinhibition of dopaminergic transmission. Depression of self-stimulation by higher doses of 8-OH-DPAT may reflect the activity of 8-OH-DPAT at postsynaptic 5-HT receptors, with consequent inhibition of DA transmission. Suppression of responding after buspirone at all doses tested may reflect the action of this compound as a partial agonist at postsynaptic 5-HT receptors, and/or its effects on other systems.     

Role of 5-HT(1A) and 5-HT(7) receptors in the facilitatory response induced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation

The present study further explored the mechanisms involved in the facilitatory effect induced by (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) on learning consolidation. For this purpose, we analyzed in parallel the effects of LY215840 and ritanserin, two 5-HT(2) receptor antagonists with high affinity for the 5-HT(7) receptor, and WAY100635, a selective 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist, on the facilitatory effect induced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation. We also determined whether LY215840 and/or ritanserin could be beneficial in restoring a deficient learning condition. Using the model of autoshaping task, post-training injection of LY215840 or WAY100635 had no effect on learning consolidation. However, both drugs abolished the enhancing effect of 8-OH-DPAT, with LY215840 being slightly more effective than WAY100635 in this respect. Ritanserin produced an increase in performance by itself and also abolished the effect of 8-OH-DPAT. Remarkably, selective blockade of 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2B/2C) receptors with MDL100907 and SB200646, respectively, failed to alter the 8-OH-DPAT effect. LY215840 and ritanserin, at the doses that inhibited the 8-OH-DPAT-induced response, reversed the learning deficits induced by scopolamine and dizocilpine. The present results suggest that the enhancing effect produced by 8-OH-DPAT on learning consolidation involves activation of 5-HT(1A) receptors and an additional mechanism, probably related to the 5-HT(7) receptor. Blockade of 5-HT(2) receptors, and perhaps of 5-HT(7) receptors as well, may provide some benefit in reversing learning deficits associated with decreased cholinergic and/or glutamatergic neurotransmission.     

Contribution of spinal 5-HT1A and 5-HT7 receptors to locomotor-like movement induced by 8-OH-DPAT in spinal cord-transected mice

Growing evidence from in vitro studies suggests that spinal serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes 5-HTR(1A) and 5-HTR(7) are associated with an induction of central pattern generator activity. However, the possibility of a specific role for these receptor subtypes in locomotor rhythmogenesis in vivo remains unclear. Here, we studied the effects of a single dose (1 mg/kg, i.p.) of 8-hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), a potent and selective 5-HTR(1A/7) agonist, in mice spinal cord transected at the low-thoracic level (Th9/10). The results show that 8-OH-DPAT acutely induced, within 15 min, hindlimb movements that share some characteristics with normal locomotion. Paraplegic mice pretreated with the selective 5-HTR(1A) antagonists, WAY100,135 or WAY100,635, displayed significantly less 8-OH-DPAT-induced movement. A similar reduction of 8-OH-DPAT-induced movements was found in animals pretreated with SB269970, a selective 5-HTR(7) antagonist. Moreover, a near complete blockade of 8-OH-DPAT-induced movement was obtained in wild-type mice pretreated with 5-HTR(1A) and 5-HTR(7) antagonists, and in 5-HTR(7)-/- mice pretreated with 5-HTR(1A) antagonists. Overall, these results clearly demonstrate that 8-OH-DPAT potently induces locomotor-like movement in the previously paralysed hindlimbs of low-thoracic-transected mice. The results, with selective antagonists and knockout animals, provide compelling evidence of a specific contribution of both receptor subtypes to spinal locomotor rhythmogenesis in vivo.     

Chronic administration of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT differentially desensitizes 5-HT1A autoreceptors of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei

The present study investigated alterations of the regulation of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) release by 5-HT_1A autoreceptors following single and repeated treatment with the 5-HT_1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT). Rats were pretreated with 8-OH-DPAT (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.) for 1, 7, or 14 days. The ability of an acute challenge administration of 8-OH-DPAT (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) to decrease 5-HT release in the ventral striatum and the ventral hippocampus of rats maintained under chloral hydrate anesthesia was examined 24 h after the last pretreatment injection using in vivo microdialysis. The decrease of 5-HT release in the striatum produced by the challenge dose of the 5-HT_1A receptor agonist was diminished following 7 and 14 days of pretreatment, but not after 1 day of pretreatment, with 8-OH-DPAT. In contrast, decreases of 5-HT release in the hippocampus by the 8-OH-DPAT challenge were not altered after 1 or 7 days of pretreatment, and only a trend for attenuation appeared after pretreatment for 14 days. The results of the present study indicate that desensitization of 5-HT_1A autoreceptors regulating 5-HT release in different brain regions by repeated treatment with 8-OH-DPAT occurs at different rates. Synapse 25:107–116, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Modulation of sympathetic nerve activity by microinjection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT into the rostroventrolateral medulla.

In the present study, renal sympathetic nerve activity was recorded simultaneously with sympathetic nerve activity to skeletal muscle vasculature to determine if the sympatho-inhibition evoked by microinjection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)teralin (8-OH-DPAT) into the rostroventrolateral medulla (RVLM) was uniform or regional. Three patterns of sympatho-inhibition were observed in these sympathetic outflows and the type of response depended upon location of microinjection within the subretrofacial nucleus (SRF). Inhibition of renal nerve activity only was elicited by microinjections at rostral sites at the caudal pole of the facial nucleus. In contrast, inhibition of muscle sympathetic nerve activity was evoked from more caudal injections at the rostral pole of the inferior olives. Microinjection in the area between these two regions produced inhibition of both sympathetic outflows. This study demonstrates that differential inhibition of regional sympathetic outflows can be elicited by microinjection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT into the RVLM. These data suggests that this modulation is due to differences in anatomical arrangement of the medullary neurons rather than differences in neuron sensitivity to the serotonergic agonist.     

Antagonism of muscarinic receptors in the rabbit iris-ciliary body by 8-OH-DPAT and other 5-HT1A receptor agonists

Summary Physiological studies have shown that serotonin and 5-HT_1A agonists can influence muscarinic function in the rabbit iris-ciliary body (ICB). The purpose of this study was to examine whether a direct interaction exists between muscarinic and 5-HT_1A receptors in the ICB. At high concentrations, the 5-HT_1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT attenuated the carbachol-induced stimulation of inositol phosphates (InsPs) production, but this was not blocked by the presence of 5-HT_1A antagonists. In contrast, serotonin failed to influence carbachol-induced InsPs formation. Moreover, 8-OH-DPAT but not serotonin displayed affinity for [³H]QNB binding sites in the ICB. The combined data suggest that activation of 5-HT_1A receptors in the ICB does not cause a modulation of muscarinic receptor-stimulated phosphoinositide turnover. The data instead suggest that, at high concentrations, 8-OH-DPAT acts as an antagonist at muscarinic receptors and in this way influences muscarinic receptor function. The mechanism of 5-HT-induced modulation of muscarinic function in the ICB therefore remains to be elucidated.     

Central 5-HT and the respiratory response to acoustic stimulation in awake rats: Effects of PCPA, 5-HTP and 8-OH-DPAT

Summary It was found that PCPA (4×50-100 mg/kg) decreased the respiratory-response to tone pulses (acoustic reaction), and this effect was antagonized by the administration of 5-HTP (25 mg/kg), after inhibition of extracerebral aromatic amino acid decarboxylase by means of benserazide (25 mg/kg). A further increase in the dose of 5-HTP, 50–100 mg/kg, in animals not treated with PCPA did not significantly affect the acoustic reaction. The putative 5-HT agonist 8-OH-DPAT produced a decrease in the acoustic reaction (but also at higher doses some desynchronization of respiration with tone). The administration ofd-amphetamine, 0.5–2.0 mg/kg, resulted in an increase in the acoustic reaction. Thus, in the present experiment, using a simple sensory-motor response, 8-OH-DPAT behaves as a 5-HT antagonist and the results provide further support for mixed 5-HT receptor agonist/antagonist properties of this compound.     

Post-lesion administration of 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT protects cholinergic nucleus basalis neurons against NMDA excitotoxicity

Recent evidence indicates that serotonin (5-HT)1A receptor agonists may abrogate excitotoxic brain damage. We investigated whether a single i.p. injection of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg, protects cholinergic neurons of the rat magnocellular nucleus basalis (MBN) against NMDA excitotoxicity when administered at post-injury intervals ranging from 6 to 96 h. Drug effects on passive avoidance learning and on the density of cortical cholinergic innervation, a measure of neuronal survival in the damaged MBN, were analyzed. Our results demonstrate that 8-OH-DPAT, when administered up to 24 h post-lesion, significantly attenuates both behavioral and neuroanatomical consequences of NMDA excitotoxicity on cholinergic MBN neurons; and support the hypothesis that 5-HT1A receptor agonists may interfere with delayed neuronal death in vivo that is of significance in the pharmacological treatment of neurological disorders associated with excitotoxic neuronal damage.     

Effects of 5-HT and 8-OH-DPAT on forebrain monoamine synthesis after local application into the median and dorsal raphe nuclei of the rat

Summary 5-HT (10 and 40 g) and 8-OH-DPAT (1 and 5 g) were locally applied into the dorsal or median raphe nuclei in awake, unrestrained, rats. All animals were also treated with the 5-HTP and DOPA decarboxylase inhibitor NSD-1015, 100mg kg^–1 SC, 30 min before decapitation. 5-HT or 8-OH-DPAT were administered 5 min before NSD-1015. The regional brain in vivo rate of tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase activity was estimated by measuring the accumulation of DOPA and 5-HTP. The following brain regions were sampled: neocortex, hippocampus, dorso-lateral neostriatum, ventro-medial neostriatum, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, globus pallidus, septum and the amygdala.Compared to normal controls, there were small and inconsistent effects on forebrain 5-HTP accumulation by saline injections into the dorsal or the median raphe (an increase in 3 out of 36 experiments), whereas strong effects by the injection procedure were noted on forebrain DOPA accumulation (an increase in 15 out of 36 experiments).Injections of 5-HT (same effect by 10 or 40 g) into the dorsal raphe, produced a decrease in 5-HTP accumulation in all forebrain areas except for the hippocampus and the septum, whereas no effects were seen in any area after median raphe injections. In contrast, 8-OH-DPAT preferentially produced a decrease in forebrain 5-HTP accumulation after median raphe injections and less, but statistically significant effects by dorsal raphe injections. The 8-OH-DPAT injection into the median raphe primarily affected limbic forebrain areas (hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, ventro-medial neostriatum, amygdala and the septum).This dissociation of the effects of 5-HT and 8-OH-DPAT on forebrain 5-HT synthesis after local application into the dorsal or the median raphe strongly supports the contention of heterogeniety in the brain 5-HT receptor population in terms of receptor subtypes and/or receptor regulation.     

Hippocampal 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis is greater in female rats than in males and more decreased by the 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT

Summary Brain regional 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and/or 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) concentrations tended to be slightly higher in female rats than in males but differences were substantial only in the hippocampus where female values were 34% and 36% higher respectively. These findings were consistent with the synthesis rates of 5-HT as this was 53% greater in the female than in the male hippocampi. Other regions did not show significant sex differences. The 5-HT[n1A] agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT, 1 mg/kg sc) caused comparable decreases of 5-HT synthesis rate in both sexes and in all regions studied except the hippocampus where the percentage decrease was twice as large in the females (–64%) as in the males (–32%) so that the sex difference in 5-HT synthesis in this region largely disappeared. The results are discussed in relation to sex differences in behaviour and hippocampal function.     

Anxiolytic and sedative effects of 5-HT1A ligands, 8-OH-DPAT and MDL 73005EF, in mice

The actions of the 5-HT1A receptor ligands, MDL 73005EF and 8-OH-DPAT, were assessed in mice. They were confronted with a free exploratory test especially adapted to reveal sedation, and with a two-box light/dark choice situation validated for the detection of anti-anxiety agents. Both drugs were found to have sedative properties at high doses and anxiolytic-like effects at lower doses. The results show that both drugs have a comparable profile of action to that of benzodiazepines in the two-box light/dark procedure. These findings are in line with earlier reports describing anxiolytic effects of 5-HT1A receptor ligands in different animal models of anxiety.     

Role of the thalamic intergeniculate leaflet and its 5-HT afferences in the chronobiological properties of 8-OH-DPAT and triazolam in syrian hamster

The 5-HT(1A/7) receptor agonist 8-hydroxy-2-[di-n-propylamino]-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) has chronobiological effects on the circadian system and, in the Syrian hamster, it is known that serotonergic (5-HT) projections connecting the median raphe nucleus to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus are a prerequisite for the expression of 8-OH-DPAT-induced phase advance of locomotor activity rhythm. We examined the possible involvement of the thalamic intergeniculate leaflet (IGL) in the phase-shifting properties of 8-OH-DPAT injections at CT7. Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the IGL blocked phase-shift responses to 8-OH-DPAT of the activity rhythm. Phase changes induced by injections of 8-OH-DPAT at CT7 and triazolam (Tz), a short-acting benzodiazepine, at CT6 were also studied after bilateral chemical lesion of the 5-HT fibres connecting the dorsal raphe nucleus (DR) to IGL. Destruction of 5-HT fibres within the IGL blocked the phase-shift response to Tz, but not the phase-shift response to 8-OH-DPAT. In conclusion, (a) IGL is essential for the phase-shifting effect of peripheral 8-OH-DPAT injections; (b) 5-HT fibres connecting DR to IGL are necessary for the expression of the phase-shifting effect of Tz but not of 8-OH-DPAT.     

Ex vivo inhibitory effect of the 5-HT uptake blocker citalopram on 5-HT synthesis

Summary Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) synthesis was determined in vivo by measuring the accumulation of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in rat frontal cortex after inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase by administration of m-hydroxybenzylhydrazine (NSD 1015) (100 mg/kg, i.p.). The selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, citalopram, the 5-HT_1a agonists, (±)8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), ipsapirone, gepirone and the 5-HT_1a/b agonist, 7-trifluoromethyl-4(4-methyl-1-piperazinylpyrolo[1,2-a]-quinoxaline (CGS 12066B), the 5-HT_1a/b ligands and -adrenoceptor antagonists, (±)pindolol and (±)alprenolol, and the non-selective 5-HT ligands, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) and metergoline, all inhibited the synthesis of 5-HT. The 5-HT_1a /5-HT₂ antagonist, spiperone, alone, had no effect on basal 5-HT synthesis, however it attenuated the effect of 8-OH-DPAT by 56% and CGS 12066B by 39% but only barely that of citalopram by 17%. The selective 5-HT_1a antagonist, WAY 100635, which did not modify by itself 5-HT synthesis, had no effect on citalopram-induced reduction of 5-HT synthesis. Neither the 5-HT₂ agonist, (±)1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-indophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI) nor the 5-HT₂ antagonist, ritanserin, had any effect on the synthesis of 5-HT. In addition, ritanserin did not modify the inhibitory effect of citalopram. Methiothepin was the only compound to increase 5-HT synthesis. These results suggest that the effect of citalopram on the synthesis of 5-HT is not mediated by 5-HT_1a or 5-HT₂ receptors and that other receptors may be involved.     

Cellular and behavioral effects of 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT in a rat model of levodopa-induced motor complications

5-HT1A autoreceptor stimulation can act to attenuate supraphysiological swings in extracellular dopamine levels following long-term levodopa treatment and may be useful in the treatment and prevention of the motor complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate cellular and behavioral effects of 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT in a rat model of levodopa-induced motor complications. Two sets of experiments were performed. First, animals were treated with levodopa (50 mg/kg with benserazide 12.5 mg/kg, twice daily), intraperitoneally (i.p.) for 22 days. On day 23, animals received either 8-OH-DPAT (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or 8-OH-DPAT plus WAY-100635 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p) or vehicle with each levodopa dose. In the second set, animals were treated either with levodopa (50 mg/kg, i.p.) plus 8-OH-DPAT (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or levodopa (50 mg/kg, i.p.) plus vehicle, administered twice daily for 22 consecutive days. Our study showed that 8-OH-DPAT plus levodopa both prolonged the duration of the motor response and reduced peak turning. 8-OH-DPAT plus levodopa also decreased the frequency of failures to levodopa. Co-administration of WAY-100635, a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, with 8-OH-DPAT eliminated the effect of 8-OH-DPAT on motor complications indicating that the observed 8-OH-DPAT responses were probably mediated at the 5-HT1A autoreceptor. Moreover, 8-OH-DPAT plus levodopa significantly reduced hyperphosphorylation of GluR1 at serine 845, which was closely associated with levodopa-induced motor complications.