Modifications of central 5-hydroxytryptamine binding sites in synaptic membranes from rat brain after long-term administration of tricyclic antidepressants.

The effects of single and long-term administration of tricylic antidepressants, imipramine, desmethylimipramine (desipramine), amitriptyline and dimetacrine on 5-hydroxytrptamine (5-HT) binding sites in synaptic membranes from rat brain were studied. There were two types of specific [³H]-5-HT binding sites; one with high affinity and the other with low affinity. Intraventricular injection of 5,6-dihydroxytryptamine did not modify the binding parameters. In in vitro experiments, 5-HT, tryptamine derivatives and 5-HT antagonists were found to be effective displacers of [³H]-5-HT binding while all antidepressants studied were ineffective in displacing the binding at 10^?6 M. Single i.p. administration of antidepressants did not affect significantly the specific binding. In contrast, administration of antidepressants for 3 weeks produced a significant decrease in the maximal numbers of binding sites, without affecting the dissociation constants of the specific binding. It is suggested that the modification of central 5-HT binding sites caused by long-term administration of tricylclic antidepressants is due to persistent exposure of the binding sites to elevated concentrations of 5-HT, a consequence of the 5-HT uptake inhibition by the antidepressants. These observations could have some implication for the new theory proposed recently that in depression, there is an involvement of synaptic 5-HT with a hypersensitive receptor in the postsynaptic membranes.