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Notes: A binding assay for muscarinic cholinergic receptors has been developed using labelled dexetimide as ligand and a filtration technique. The main features of this assay are its stereospecific nature, the very high affinity of the ligand for the specific receptors sitcs and its very low affinity for non-specific binding sites.The latter point was further investigated using labelled levitimide, the inactive enantiomer. The binding was found to be neither stereospecific nor saturable and displacement by both enantiomers revealed a particular curve with a very flattened course.Kinetic experiments with [3H]dexetimide suggest the occurrence of a heterogenous population of muscarinic receptors in the rat striatum.A study of the regional distribution of muscarinic receptors in rat brain showed a high concentration in the dopaminergic areas, the cortex and the hippocampus, but practically none in the cerebellum.The subcellular distribution pattern revealed a marked enrichment of [3H]dexetimide stereospecific binding sites in the microsomal fraction of rat striatum and hippocampus. Such a distribution was not found with [3H]levitimide. All the characteristics of this binding assay make dexetimide a very appropriate ligand for labelling muscarinic receptors in vitro as well as in vivo.

Notes: Summary Levocabastine is a potent antihistamine drug, structurally unrelated to neurotensin. In rat and mouse brain but not in other animal species, it inhibited 60% of the [3H]neurotensin binding displaced by unlabelled neurotensin or neurotensin (8–13). The levocabastine-sensitive site or “site 1” displayed high affinity properties for levocabastine (IC50=25 nM) and was highly stereospecific (IC50-value higher than 10 μM for one of the isomers). Binding to the “site 1” in rat brain corresponded to the [3H]neurotensin binding displaceable by 1 μM levocabastine, whereas binding to the “site 2” corresponded to the binding displaced by 1 μM neurotensin when the “site 1” was occluded by 1 μM levocabastine. Both “site 1” and “site 2” appeared to be saturable. Scatchard plots obtained in rat bulbus olfactorius allowed to calculate a K D-values of 7.1 nM and a B max-values of 37.2 fmol/mg original tissue for “site 1”, while “site 2” displayed a K D-value of 0.7 nM and a B max-value of 16.3 fmol/mg original tissue. The regional distributions of both sites showed marked differences. The “site 1” was homogeneously distributed throughout all rat brain areas, whereas the amount of “site 2” binding was markedly different in separate brain areas: bulbus olfactorius and substantia nigra had the highest amounts (8.9 and 7.8 fmol/mg tissue) while cerebellum had the lowest (0.4 fmol/mg tissue). In spite of its high affinity and stereospecificity, “site 1” has to be considered as an acceptor or recognition site for [3H]neurotensin because of its species-link, low saturability and homogeneous distribution in all rat brain areas. On the other hand, “site 2” had the characteristics of a physiological receptor: high affinity, saturability in the low nanomolar range and marked regional distribution in rat brain. “Site 2” corresponds therefore most probably to the physiological neurotensin receptor. The foregoing experiments provide evidence for the presence of a drug displaceable, non-specific (=unrelated to a physiological receptor) neurotensin binding site in rat brain; levocabastine should be an important tool to occlude this site in order to reveal, by means of in vitro binding assays, the specific neurotensin binding site in rat brain.

Notes: Abstract This review reports on the pharmacodynamics of the new antipsychotic risperidone. The primary action of risperidone is serotonin 5-HT2 receptor blockade as shown by displacement of radioligand binding (Ki: 0.16 nM), activity on isolated tissues (EC50:0.5 nM), and antagonism of peripherally (ED50: 0.0011 mg/kg) and centrally (ED50:0.014 mg/kg) acting 5-HT2 receptor agonists in rats. Risperidone is at least as potent as the specific 5-HT2 receptor antagonist ritanserin in these tests. Risperidone is also a potent dopamine D2 receptor antagonist as indicated by displacement of radioligand binding (Ki: 1.4 nM), activity in isolated striatal slices (IC50: 0.89 nM), and antagonism of peripherally (ED50: 0.0057 mg/kg in dogs) and centrally acting D2 receptor agonists (ED50: 0.056–0.15 mg/kg in rats). Risperidone shows all effects common to D2 antagonists, including enhancement of prolactin release. However, some central effects such as catalepsy and blockade of motor activity occur at high doses only. Risperidone is 4–10 times less potent than haloperidol as a central D2 antagonist in rats and it differs from haloperidol by the following characteristics: predominant 5-HT2 antagonism; LSD antagonism; effects on sleep; smooth dose-response curves for D2 antagonism; synergism of combined 5-HT2/D2 antagonism; pronounced effects on amphetamine-induced oxygen consumption; increased social interaction; and pronounced effects on dopamine (DA) turnover. Risperidone displays similar activity at pre- and postsynaptic D2 receptors and at D2 receptors from various rat brain regions. The binding affinity for D4 and D3 receptors is 5 and 9 times weaker, respectively, than for D2 receptors; interaction with D1 receptors occurs only at very high concentrations. The pharmacological profile of risperidone includes interaction with histamine H1 and α-adrenergic receptors but the compound is devoid of significant interaction with cholinergic and a variety of other types of receptors. Risperidone has excellent oral activity, a rapid onset, and a 24-h duration of action. Its major metabolite, 9-hydroxyrisperidone, closely mimics risperidone in pharmacodynamics. Risperidone can be characterized as a potent D2 antagonist with predominant 5HT2 antagonistic activity and optimal pharmacokinetic properties.

Notes: Abstract Risperidone and its active metabolite 9-OH-risperidone were compared to reference antipsychotic drugs (haloperidol, pipamperone, fluspirilene, clozapine, zotepine) and compounds under development (olanzapine, seroquel, sertindole, ORG-5222, ziprasidone) for in vitro binding to neurotransmitter receptors in brain tissue and on membranes of recombinant cells expressing cloned human receptors and for in vivo occupancy of neurotransmitter receptors in rat and guinea-pig brain following acute treatment (2 h., s.c.). An ex vivo autoradiography technique was applied to determine the receptor occupancy by the drugs administered in vivo. Of particular interest are the central 5HT2A receptors and D2-type receptors. Predominant 5HT2A receptor antagonism is supposed to add to an atypical profile of the antipsychotics (treatment of the negative symptoms, low incidence of extrapyramidal side effects). D2 antagonism is required for the treatment of positive symptoms. A contribution of the new dopamine receptor subtypes D3 and in particular D4 receptors has been proposed. In vitro, all compounds, except the ‘typical’ antipsychotics haloperidol and fluspirilene, showed higher affinity for 5HT2A than for D2 receptors. Subnanomolar affinity for human 5HT2A receptors was observed for ORG-5222, sertindole, resperidone, 9-OH-risperidone and ziprasidone. Fluspirilene, ORG-5222, haloperidol, ziprasidone, risperidone, 9-OH-risperidone and zotepine displayed nanomolar affinity for human D2 receptors. Sertindole and olanzapine were slightly less potent. Pipamperone, clozapine and seroquel showed 2 orders of magnitude lower D2 affinity in vitro. Clozapine, but even more so pipamperone, displayed higher affinity for D4 than for D2 receptors. For most other compounds, D4 affinity was only slightly lower than their D2 affinity. Seroquel was totally devoid of D4 affinity. None of the compounds had nanomolar affinity for D1 receptors; their affinity for D3 receptors was usually slightly lower than for D2 receptors. In vivo, ORG-5222, risperidone, pipamperone, 9-OH-risperidone, sertindole, olanzapine, zotepine and clozapine maintained a higher potency for occupying 5HT2A than D2 receptors. Risperidone and ORG-5222 had 5HT2A versus D2 potency ratio of about 20. Highest potency for 5HT2A receptor occupancy was observed for ORG-5222 followed by risperidone and olanzapine. Ziprasidone exclusively occupied 5HT2A receptors. ORG-5222, haloperidol, fluspirilene and olanzapine showed the highest potency for occupying D2 receptors. No regional selectivity for D2 receptor occupancy in mesolimbic versus nigrostriatal areas was detected for any of the test compounds. Risperidone was conspicuous because of its more gradual occupancy of D2 receptors; none of the other compounds showed this property. The various compounds also displayed high to moderate occupancy of adrenergic α1 receptors, except fluspirilene and ziprasidone. Clozapine, zotepine, ORG-5222 and sertindole occupied even more α1 than D2 receptors. Clozapine showed predominant occupancy of H1 receptors and occupied cholinergic receptors with equivalent potency to D2 receptors. A stronger predominance of 5HT2A versus D2 receptor occupancy combined with a more gradual occupancy of D2 receptors differentiates risperidone and its 9-OH-metabolite from the other antipsychotic compounds in this study. The predominant 5HT2A receptor occupancy probably plays a role in the beneficial action of risperidone on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, whereas maintenance of a moderate occupancy of D2 receptors seems adequate for treating the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. A combined 5HT2A and D2 occupancy and the avoidance of D2 receptor overblockade are believed to reduce the risk for extrapyramidal symptoms.

Notes: Abstract Ritanserin is a potent and selective serotonin-S2 antagonist which slowly dissociates from the receptor sites, while setoperone has potent serotonin and moderate dopamine antagonistic properties and dissociates rapidly from the receptor sites. Acute administration of ritanserin (1–10 mg/kg) produced a non-competitive inhibition of 3H-ketanserin binding, measured ex vivo in washed frontal cortex membranes, which lasted for 12 h. This is in accordance with the slow dissociation of the drug from the receptor sites. Setoperone (1–10 mg/kg orally) also produced a partially non-competitive inhibition of 3H-ketanserin binding in washed membranes, which is unlike its rapid dissociation. In contrast, there was no inhibition of dopamine receptor binding in washed striatal membranes. Chronic oral administration of 10 mg/kg·day of the drugs significantly reduced the Bmax values of 3H-ketanserin, without changing the KD value when drug-free periods were longer than 1 day. The maximum reduction following 25 days' treatment with 14 mg/kg ritanserin was 50% at 1 day drug-free; the Bmax values gradually returned to the control value in about 12 days. The receptor half-life was calculated to be 3.5 days and the receptor synthesis rate 4 fmoles/mg tissue·day. Ritanserin treatment did not alter radioligand binding to serotonin-S1, α1-, α2- and β-adrenergic, dopamine-D2, benzodiazepine and substance P sites. Chronic treatment with setoperone at 10 mg/kg·day, orally, significantly reduced the Bmax value of 3H-ketanserin binding in frontal cortex but treatment with 1 mg/kg·day did not. In contrast, a dose-dependent increase in the number of striatal dopamine-D2 sites was observed, in accordance with the moderate dopamine-antagonistic properties of setoperone. Dopamine-D2 receptor up regulation up to 150% of control values, was maintained at the same level for 9 days, it started to decline 12 days after stopping drug treatment. Following chronic treatment and drug withdrawal for more than 1 day, ritanserin and setoperone levels in whole brain homogenates were below detection level (〈1 ng/g). The similar reduction in the Bmax values of 3H-ketanserin binding following chronic treatment with the rapidly dissociating setoperone and the slowly dissociating ritanserin, the absence of effect on the KD value, the slow reappearance of the receptor sites and the opposite effect on serotonin-S2 and dopamine-D2 receptors with setoperone suggest that real serotonin-S2 receptor down regulation occurs following antagonist treatment. The findings illustrate the difference in receptor regulation between the serotonergic and the dopaminergic system. The specific serotonin-S2 receptor down regulation produced by serotonin antagonists is probably achieved via drug interference with intracellular processes. In view of the hypothesis that supersensitive serotonin-S2 receptor sites may be involved in the etiology of certain mood disorders, acute blockade of these receptors followed by receptor down regulation may be beneficial for the treatment of such diseases.

Notes: Summary The signal transducing system coupled to the serotonin-S2 receptor on platelets involves metabolism of inositolcontaining phospholipid, elevation of intracellular free Ca2+ and activation of protein kinase C. Evidence for coupling of the serotonin-S2 receptor to the same signal transducing system in brain and smooth muscle tissue is reviewed.

Notes: Abstract In a short review some historical data are presented that underline the importance of the dopamine hypothesis in schizophrenia and the mechanism of action of neuroleptics. The assumption that neuroleptics are postsynaptic dopamine receptor blockers in certain areas of the brain is based on pharmacological, biochemical and clinical findings. New pharmacological data are presented which show that apomorphine, amphetamine, cocaine and caffeine in different ways and at different levels may exert agonist activity on the dopaminergic system in the brain. The agonist activity of these compounds, which is expressed by an increase in motility of the injected animals, can be antagonized by neuroleptics such as haloperidol. However, the higher the dose levels of the agonists, thus the higher the dopaminergic overstimulation, the higher the dose of haloperidol needed to normalize the motility. These data tend to confirm the dopamine hypothesis and may give some support for the use of individually adapted doses in the treatment of schizophrenia and mania,i.e. doses that match the dopaminergic overstimulation. Thus patients with high dopaminergic overstimulation need higher doses of neuroleptics than patients with low dopaminergic overstimulation. This could explain why some so-called ‘therapy-resistant’ patients, not responding to conventional doses, respond to high doses of neuroleptics. Adapted individualized dose levels, however, also mean low doses of neuroleptics in patients with a low dopaminergic overstimulation. It should be mentioned in this respect that chronic overblockade of the dopaminergic system (overdoses of neuroleptics) may be masked by the concomitant administration of antiparkinson agents and that chronic overblockade may induce dopaminergic hypersensitivity and lead to tardive dyskinesia. Also high doses of neuroleptics therefore should never be given to non-responders over long periods of time. Although dopamine seems to be a very important neurotransmitter involved in the mechanism of action of neuroleptics, it should be remembered that other neurotransmitters may also be of importance, since the activity of neuroleptics is not necessarily limited to dopamine receptor blockade and schizophrenia is such a complicated disease that its manifestations can hardly be explained by merely the overstimulation of postsynaptic dopamine receptors.

Notes: Summary [3H]7-hydroxy-N,N-di-n-propyl-2-aminotetralin was used as a radioligand for the autoradiographic measurements of dopamine D3 receptors in rat and human brain. Preincubation of the brain sections was necessary to obtain binding of the radioligand in the islands of Calleja and in the nucleus accumbens, but not in cerebellar lobules 9/10 of the rat. D3 receptors were also totally occluded in unwashed sections of the human striatum. The radioligand binding to D3 receptors was maximal after preincubating the sections for at least 10 min. Pretreatment of the animals with reserpine or tetrabenazine, which results in a severe depletion of endogeneous monoamines, strongly reduces the occlusion of D3 receptors in unwashed brain sections. The occlusion of dopamine D3 receptors in brain sections suggests that thein vivo access to D3 receptors may be locally inhibited by endogenous dopamine. Thein vitro binding affinities of 12 antipsychotic drugs for D2 and D3 receptors were evaluated in competition binding experiments, using both rat and cloned human receptors. Most of the compounds showed only a slightly lower affinity for D3 than for D2 receptorsin vitro. Affinities of the antipsychotic drugs for cloned human D2L and D3 receptors were very close to their affinities for the rat receptors.In vivo occupancy of these receptors in the rat brain was measuredex vivo by quantitative autoradiography, 2 hours after subcutaneous drug administration. For most compounds, occupancy of D3 receptors, as compared to D2 receptor occupancy, was lower than expected from the correspondingin vivo affinity ratios. For the new antipsychotic risperidone,in vivo occupancy of D3 receptors was measured both in the islands of Calleja and in the cerebellar lobules 9/10. This compound was three times less potent for the occupancy of D3 receptors in the islands of Calleja than in the cerebellum, an area lacking endogenous dopamine (ED50=28 and 10 mg kg−1, respectively). Based on the observations in the rat brain, it may reasonably be supposed that therapeutic dosages of antipsychotic drugs will induce in patients only a minor occupancy of D3 receptors in brain areas containing high dopamine concentrations. The role of dopamine D3 receptors as a target of antipsychotic drugs may therefore be less important than previously thought.