Tranylcypromine does not enhance the effects of amitriptyline on 5-HT2 receptors in rat cerebral cortex

Time-Related Differences in the Physical Property Profiles of Oral Drugs

Comparisons of the calculated physicochemical properties of oral drugs launched prior to 1983 (864 drugs) and between 1983 and 2002 (329 drugs) show that mean values of lipophilicity, percent polar surface area and H-bond donor count are the same, suggesting that these are the most important oral druglike physical properties. In contrast, mean values of molecular weight and the numbers of O + N atoms, H-bond acceptors, and rotatable bonds and rings have increased in 1983-2002 drugs (by 13-29%). Analysis of the 1983-2002 oral drugs by therapy area shows that antiinfectives and nervous system drugs have the most extreme physical property profiles. Cardiovascular drugs show increasing molecular weight with year of publication, primarily a consequence of focusing on clinically proven mechanisms, with limited chemical diversity. Drug classes other than antiinfectives show comparable distributions of lipophilicity, suggesting that this property in oral drugs is important irrespective of the drug's target. The results suggest that the balance between polar and nonpolar drug properties is an important, unchanging feature of oral drug molecules.

Anti-serotonergic effects of urethane and chloral hydrate may not be mediated by a blockade of 5-HT2 receptors. Short communication

The general anesthetics urethane and chloral hydrate have profound anti-serotonergic effects both in the rat cortex in vivo and the rat aortic ring in vitro. The suggestion that these effects may be due to an action on 5-HT2 receptors was tested using ex vivo and in vitro [3H]ketanserin binding assays with membrane-enriched fractions from rat brain. Urethane did not alter [3H]ketanserin binding in the ex vivo assay. In the in vitro assay, urethane, chloral hydrate, and its active metabolite 2,2,2-trichloroethanol produced slight reductions (of 16%, 9%, and 18%, respectively) of [3H]ketanserin binding. These studies suggest that anti-serotonergic effects of urethane and chloral hydrate may not be mediated by a blockade of 5-HT2 receptors.

5-Hydroxytryptamine2 and beta-adrenergic receptor regulation in rat brain following chronic treatment with desipramine and fluoxetine alone and in combination

A chronic (14-day) study was initiated to investigate the effects of combined fluoxetine (FLU) and desipramine (DMI) treatment on the densities and affinities of beta-adrenergic and 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5-HT2) receptors. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered the following doses using osmotic minipumps: FLU, 10 mg/kg/day; DMI, 5, 10, or 15 mg/kg/day; FLU, 10 mg/kg/day, plus DMI, 5 mg/kg/day; or vehicle (distilled water). After 14 days the cortex was dissected out and used for [3H]-ketanserin (5-HT2) binding, [3H]CGP-12177 (beta-adrenergic) binding, and drug level analysis. All animals receiving DMI showed significant down-regulation of 5-HT2 receptors except those receiving FLU in combination. DMI down-regulated beta-adrenergic receptors in a dose-dependent manner, with significantly greater down-regulation seen with the combination than with DMI (5 mg/kg/day) alone. This latter effect was apparently the result of greater levels of DMI in cortex with the combination than with DMI (5 mg/kg/day) alone. FLU had no effect on 5-HT2 or beta-adrenergic receptors on its own. Coadministration of FLU and DMI resulted in a doubling of levels of FLU and its demethylated metabolite, norfluoxetine (NFLU), and a tripling of DMI levels compared with values observed when FLU (10 mg/kg/day) or DMI (5 mg/kg/day) was administered alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Comparisons of the actions of high and low doses of the MAO inhibitor tranylcypromine on 5-HT2 binding sites in rat cortex

Tranylcypromine (TCP) is a commercially available antidepressant drug, and recent literature reports suggest that high doses of this drug may be particularly effective in treating refractory depression. Down-regulation of 5-HT2 receptors in rat cortex is an effect produced after chronic administration of several antidepressants, and we have conducted a chronic study comparing low- and high-dose TCP in this regard. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered TCP (0.5 or 2.5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (distilled water) via Alzet minipumps implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal thoracic area. Groups of rats were killed 4, 10 or 28 days after pump implantation and whole cortex was dissected out and utilized for preparation of a membrane fraction. Binding studies were performed with this fraction using 3H-ketanserin as the radioligand. Down-regulation (decrease in Bmax) of the 5-HT2 binding site was observed in high-dose animals after 10 and 28 days but not after 4 days. Low-dose TCP had no effect on 5-HT2 densities at any time interval. The affinity of 3H-ketanserin for the 5-HT2 site was not affected by either dose at any time interval. These results suggest that down-regulation of the 5-HT2 site may contribute to the efficacy of high-dose TCP in the treatment of refractory depression.