HIGH-AFFINITY BINDING OF [H-3] 6-NITROQUIPAZINE TO CORTICAL MEMBRANESIN THE RAT - INHIBITION BY 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE AND 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE UPTAKE INHIBITORS

[H-3]6-Nitroquipazine is a new, suitable radioligand for studying the uptake system for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin). In the present study, inhibition by drugs of the binding of [H-3]6-nitroquipazine to uptake sites for 5-HT in the cerebral cortex of the rat was investigated. The inhibition of 5-HT and several inhibitors of the uptake of 5-HT (paroxetine, clomipramine, citalopram, Z-norzimelidine, fluoxetine, imipramine, desipramine and 5-methoxytryptoline) against the binding of [H-3]6-nitroquipazine to membranes from the cortex of the rat were the same and competition curves indicated a single population of binding sites. The addition of 5-HT and the tricyclic inhibitors of the uptake of 5-HT, imipramine, clomipramine and desipramine, all produced changes in the apparent dissociation constant (K(d)), without changes in the number of binding sites (B(max)). Also, the non-tricyclic inhibitors of the uptake of 5-HT, paroxetine, citalopram, fluoxetine and Z-norzimelidine, and 5-methoxytryptoline, all produced changes in K(d) values without changes in the B(max). These results suggest that all the drugs used in this experiment exhibited competitive interactions with the binding of [H-3]6-nitroquipazine to uptake sites for 5-HT in the brain of the rat. These drugs may bind to common binding sites, which are likely to represent the substrate recognition sites for the uptake of 5-HT.