Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated the existence of a large receptor reserve for agonists at somatodendritic 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) serotonin receptors in the raphe nuclei of the rat. 5-HT1A agonists with anxiolytic properties (e.g., buspirone, gepirone, and ipsapirone) display full intrinsic activity at these receptors but are partial agonists at postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors, which suggests that the latter sites may be devoid of a receptor reserve. In the present studies, this was directly determined by examining the relationship between receptor occupancy and response at postsynaptic 5-HT1A receptors, in rat hippocampus, mediating the inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity, using the method of partial irreversible receptor inactivation. Rats were treated with vehicle or the irreversible antagonist N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ), and 24 hr later hippocampi were removed for saturation analysis of [3H]8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)-tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) binding to 5-HT1A receptors or for adenylyl cyclase assays. EEDQ (1 and 6 mg/kg) dose-dependently reduced the maximal number of [3H]8-OH-DPAT binding sites by 68.5 and 80%, respectively, without altering the Kd. Concentration-response curves were generated for inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity by 5-HT and the selective 5-HT1A agonist N,N-dipropyl-5-carboxamidotryptamine (DP-5-CT). EEDQ treatment dose-dependently reduced the maximal inhibitory effect of 5-HT [percentage of inhibition: control, 23.6; EEDQ (1 mg/kg), 13.4; EEDQ (6 mg/kg), 8.9], without altering either the slope factor (1.01) or the EC50 (96.4 nM). Analogous results were obtained with DP-5-CT [percentage of maximal inhibition: control, 24.1; EEDQ (1 mg/kg), 15.2; EEDQ (6 mg/kg), 10.7), again without changes in slope factor (0.89) or EC50 (9.9 nM). Analysis of double-reciprocal plots of equieffective concentrations of agonist, followed by calculation of fractional receptor occupancy, revealed a linear relationship between receptor occupancy and response for both 5-HT and DP-5-CT (i.e., an absence of receptor reserve). The receptor specificity of the effect of EEDQ was demonstrated in two ways. First, it was shown that pretreatment of rats with the selective 5-HT1A partial agonist BMY 7378 (10 mg/kg) before EEDQ afforded substantial protection (about 75%) against loss of the inhibitory effect of DP-5-CT on forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity. Second, EEDQ did not alter the inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity induced by the adenosine A1 receptor agonist phenylisopropyladenosine (PIA).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)