DOMPERIDONE-H-3 - SELECTIVE LIGAND FOR DOPAMINE RECEPTORS

3H-Domperidone, a potent antagonist of dopamine but less lipophilic than neuroleptic drugs, was studied as a potential ligand for cerebral dopamine receptors. It labeled with high affinity an apparently homogeneous population of non-interacting sites in a particulate fraction of mouse striatum. Association occurred rapidly and dissociation was relatively slow (t1/2≃4min); this allowed extensive washing of membranes which reduced the non-specific binding to values as low as 5% of the total binding. Consistent Kd values of 0.7 nM were obtained by analysing by various methods either the kinetics of binding or the saturation of binding sites at equilibrium. The relative potencies of various dopamine receptor agonists or antagonists to inhibit 3H-domperidone binding, paralleled their pharmacological activity. On the other hand, a variety of non-dopaminergic agents failed to inhibit 3H-domperidone binding. The findings indicate that striatal dopamine receptors are selectively labeled by this 3H-ligand. In various non-striatal regions of mouse brain the saturable binding of 3H-domperidone was almost entirely inhibited by apomorphine indicating its selectivity for dopamine receptors in spite of the low density of the latter. This was not the case for the binding of 3H-spiperone, evaluated on the same preparations, indicating that 3H-domperidone probably represents the most selective ligand presently available. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.