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The authors investigated the possible correlations between the binding parameters, maximum binding capacity (Bmax) and dissociation constant (Kd), of [3H]-8 hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino) tetralin and [3H]-imipramine in platelets of 13 healthy subjects. The in vitro pharmacological characterization was also carried out for a further comparison. The results, showing that the Bmax values were significantly and positively correlated, together with the findings of the displacement studies, suggest that in human platelets, [3H]-8 hydroxy-2-(di-N-propylamino)tetralin and [3H]-imipramine bind to the same protein.

1. 1. The effects of several antidepressants and 5-hydroxytryptamine on dissociation of 3 H-imipramine from solubilized binding sites were investigated. 2. 2. Binding sites were solubilized from rat brain membranes and gelfiltrated on a column of Sephacryl S-300. 3. 3. Most of the agents used allowed biphasic dissociation with 1mM of displacing agent and without using dilution-induced dissociation. This biphasic dissociation without nonspecific effects of membranes may be due to the existence of low-affinity binding sites. 4. 4. Dissociation of up to 40 min followed first-order kinetics. The dissociation half-life of 3 H-imipramine with the various displacing agents was calculated at from 15.0 to 25.0 min, and the differences among the agents were not so significant as the attenuation or the acceleration of the dissociation was indicated. The lower concentration of the displacing agents may obscure the modulation of the dissociation.

RésuméLe transporteur de la sérotonine sodium-dépendant est associé à la membrane plasmatique des plaquettes et des terminaisons nerveuses sérotoninergiques et constitue le mécanisme physiologique d’inactivation de la sérotonine. Un déficit en sérotonine est associé à la pathophysiologie de la dépression, et il a été suggéré que des modifications du transporteur de la sérotonine pouvaient exister au moment des épisodes dépressifs. En particulier, le nombre de sites transporteurs pourrait être diminué sur les plaquettes sanguines de patients déprimés, et des résultats comparables ont été obtenus dans certaines régions du cerveau humain post-mortem. Les inhibiteurs tricycliques et nontricycliques de la capture de sérotonine sont des antidépresseurs efficaces. Cependant, il existe une période de latence de 2 à 3 semaines entre le début du traitement et l’effet thérapeutique maximal. C’est pourquoi les études consacrées aux propriétés biochimiques et à la caractérisation moléculaire du transporteur de la sérotonine sont d’un intérêt particulier. La capture de la sérotonine par le transporteur êeut être inhibée sélectivement par le citalopram, la paroxétine, l’indalpine, la fluoxétine et le SL 81 0385. Cet effet se traduit in vitro par une augmentation de la neurotransmission sérotoninergique comme on a pu le montrer pour la paroxétine et le SL 81 0385 sur la libération de sérotonine induite par stimulation électrique dans des coupes de cortex frontal humain. Les dérivés marqués inhibiteurs de la capture tels que l’imipramine-[3H], la paroxétine-[3H] et le citalopram-[3H] ont été utilisés comme ligands spécifiques pour caractériser le transporteur. Dans les expériences de dissociation de la liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] aux membranes de cortex cérébral de rat, le citalopram, l’indalpine, la fluoxétine, le SL 81 0385, l’imipramine et la sérotonine ont des valeurs de 1½ de dissociation similaires à celle obtenue pour la paroxétine. De plus, le SL 81 0385, la fluoxétine, l’imipramine et la sérotonine induisent une protection contre l’inactivation de la liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] par le N-éthylmaléimide aux membranes de cortex cérébral de rat. Ces résultats suggèrent que le domaine de liaison des inhibiteurs tricyliques et non-tricycliques de la capture de sérotonine correspond à un site d’exclusion mutuelle par rapport au site de reconnaissance du substrat. Le transporteur neuronal de la sérotonine des membranes de cortex cérébral de rat a été solubilisé et purifié par chromatographie d’affinité sur une résine agarose à laquelle un dérivé du citalopram a été fixé par liaison covalente. La liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] à la préparation purifiée est caractérisée par un Kd de 0.71 nM et un Bmax supérieur à 1 962 pmol/mg de protéines. La purification du transporteur se traduit par un accroissement de plus de 3 000 fois de l’activité de la liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] par rapport à celle de la préparation membranaire initiale. Le profil pharmacologique de la liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] à cette préparation purifiée est préservé puisque les valeurs de Ki pour le citalopram, l’imipramine et la sérotonine sont respectivement de 19 nM, 80 nM et 3,5 μM, comparables aux Ki de ces composés sur la liaison de la paroxétine-[3H] aux membranes de cortex cérébral de rat. La purification du transporteur ainsi obtenue est la première étape qui doit permettre d’analyser les propriétés fonctionnelles du transporteur au niveau moléculaire.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), when submitted to stress remained active during both avoidance (water escape task test) and nonavoidance (forced swimming test) stress-situations. Wistar rats responded to a depression of active behaviour in forced swimming test and difficulty at resolving of complicated problem in water escape task test. did not differ in the affinity but the number of binding sites of 3H-imipramine was greater in SHR. SHR rats had a smaller number of binding sites that Wistar ones.

[3H]Paroxetine and [3H]imipramine binding to blood platelet membranes was simultaneously measured in 63 control subjects and 18 patients with DSM-III-R criteria for major depression with melancholia. Both binding sites showed significantly different (p 0.001) maximum binding (Bmax) and equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) values. Age was not correlated with either [3H]imipramine Bmax or Kd values, but a negative correlation was found between [3H]paroxetine Bmax and age in healthy controls. Furthermore, depressed patients showed significantly lower [3H]imipramine Bmax values (p 0.001) and higher Kd values (p 0.001) in comparison to the control group. No differences were observed in [3H]paroxetine Bmax and Kd values between the two groups.

1. No significant difference in the density (Bmax) of platelet 3H imipramine recognition sites were found between the group of 20 unmedicated depressed patients and 10 healthy volunteers. The mean KD value was significantly higher in the population of depressives than in controls. 2. Non-responders (after 2 weeks of treatment with antidepressants) had significantly lower initial Bmax values than responders or control subjects. Density of platelet 3H imipramine site may thus be a predictor of early response to antidepressant therapy. 3. No significant sex differences were found in KD or Bmax values in the depressed group or in control subjects. There was, however, a seasonal variation in Bmax but not in KD values of platelet 3H imipramine binding.

Binding of [3H]imipramine in mouse cerebral cortex was found to be nonhomogeneous. Competition experiments, Scatchard analysis and Hill plots are compatible with the existence of binding with high (nanomo-lar) and low (micromolar) affinity. Low-affinity binding could be eliminated by the use of low concentrations of imipramine as the competing ligand. In contrast to the high-affinity binding, the low-affinity binding was found to be unrelated to the neuronal uptake system for serotonin.

The specific high-affinity binding of 3H-imipramine to rat brain membranes was investigated. Five weeks of lithium treatment decreased the number of binding sites, but had no effect on the affinity constants. Long-term imipramine treatment had no effect on the number of binding sites but apparently decreased the affinity. The latter effect was probably due to imipramine remaining in the membrane preparation.

Apparent specific binding of [3H]imipramine to human platelet membranes at high concentrations of imipramine showed deviation from that expected of a single binding site, a result consistent with a low-affinity binding site. The deviation was due to displaceable, saturable binding to the glass fibre filters used in the assays. Imipramine, chloripramine, desipramine, and fluoxetine inhibited binding to filters whereas 5-hydroxytryptamine and ethanol were ineffective. Experimental conditions were developed that eliminated filter binding, allowing assay of high- and low-affinity binding to membranes. Failure to correct for filter binding may lead to overestimation of binding parameters, Bmax and KD for high-affinity binding to membranes, and may also be misinterpreted as indicating a low-affinity binding component in both platelet and brain membranes. Low-affinity binding (KD less than 2 microM) of imipramine to human platelet membranes was demonstrated and its significance discussed.

Brain astroglial cells, whether from a bulk isolated preparation or in culture, have been shown to take up serotonin actively. [3H]imipramine has been proposed as a specific label for serotonin uptake sites in brain. We therefore studied the binding of [3H]imipramine to C6 astroglial cells in culture to determine if some of the binding of this radioligand in brain homogenates is actually to serotonin transporting sites on glia. [3H]Imipramine binds saturably (Bmax = 202 fmol/mg protein) and with high affinity (KD = 1.72 nM) to C6 cells. This binding is competitively inhibited by other tricyclic antidepressants. The C6 cells actively transport [3H]serotonin with a Km of 2 microM and a Vmax of 1080 fmol/10(6) cells/min. However, the pharmacological profile for inhibition of serotonin uptake does not correlate with the pharmacological profile for inhibition of [3H]imipramine binding. These results suggest that the binding of [3H]imipramine to astroglial cells is not related to their capacity for active uptake of serotonin. Further, in brain homogenates, some of the binding of [3H]imipramine may not be to neuronal uptake sites but rather may be to sites on astroglial cells.

3H-imipramine and 3H-cyano-imipramine binding was determined in brain homogenates of rats which had been treated for 21 days with imipramine or desimipramine. When compared to control animals, long-term administration of these antidepressants did not induce any alteration in the maximal number of 3H-imipramine or 3H-cyano-imipramine binding sites. However, a transient increase in the apparent dissociation constant was observed. Such findings are discussed in respect to previous studies, which have been highly contraversial.

It was suggested in a recent report by Phillips et al. [J. Neurochem. 43, 479-486 (1984)] that the low-affinity binding of [3H]imipramine in the mouse cerebral cortex could in fact represent binding of [3H]imipramine to the GF/B glass fiber filters used to terminate the assays. The present study demonstrates that this is not the case and advances two lines of evidence: (a) For saturation analysis, mouse cerebrocortical membranes were incubated with [3H]imipramine concentrations between 0.8 nM and 3.6 microM, and parallel incubations were carried out with buffer replacing the brain membranes. The same low-affinity component, in addition to the high-affinity component, was present in the binding of [3H]imipramine to brain membranes plus GF/B filters (uncorrected data), and in that to brain membranes alone (corrected data). (b) Dissociation experiments, in which filter binding is equal for all samples and dissociation time is the only variable, clearly indicated the nonhomogeneity of [3H]imipramine binding. Our results, however, do show that binding to recently purchased GF/B filters is not a negligible phenomenon in saturation experiments. Relatively lower binding was found to GF/C, GF/F, Gelman A/E, and Reeves Angel 934 AH filters; pretreatment of GF/B filters with polyethyleneimine (PEI) reduced binding to a greater extent in the single manifold than in the cell harvester.

A number of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake inhibitors have been shown to displace the binding of [3H]imipramine to rat cortical membranes in a complex manner with Hill slopes less than unity. Norzimeldine displaced the binding of [3H]imipramine in a biphasic manner with IC50 values for the two components of about 30 nM and 30 microM. This latter site alone was found in tissues that had been treated with a protease. Binding to both of these sites was displaced by 10 microM desipramine. The protease-sensitive [3H]imipramine binding sites were found to be saturable, high-affinity binding sites with a KD of 8 nM. The number of these sites varied between brain regions and was positively correlated with the regional distribution of [14C]5-HT but not [3H]noradrenaline uptake. This was not the case however for the protease-resistant but desipramine-displaceable binding sites. Since most previous [3H]imipramine binding studies have been performed with high concentrations of desipramine (10 microM) to define "specific binding," these data would suggest that either protease-sensitivity or displacability by 1 microM norzimeldine would give more reliable estimates of the specific binding.

Most investigations dealing with the pharmacological characterization of (3H)imipramine binding sites focus on tricyclic antidepressants (TCA). This approach seemed to be justified since imipramine belongs to that chemical group. Langer and coworkers, however, introduced a tetrahydro-beta-carboline (TH beta C) as a possible endogenous ligand. Thus, the high affinity of imipramine towards the binding sites might not be due to its special chemical structure but due to its tricyclic nature. In the present paper the structure-activity-relationships of neuroleptics and beta-carbolines were investigated and compared with that of tricyclic antidepressants. Among the tricyclic neuroleptics those with an electron attracting substituent (-Cl) exerted highest affinity. The effect was attenuated by a long, cyclic side chain. The affinity of tricyclic neuroleptics was only slightly weaker than that of 6-Meo-TH beta C the suggested endogenous ligand. The experiments with other TH beta Cs supported the observation that an electron attracting substituent increases the affinity of a compound to the (3H)imipramine binding sites. Comparison of the binding characteristics of (3H)imipramine to membranes of human brain and thrombocytes as well as those of rat brain and thrombocytes revealed no differences among both species. Furthermore, the displacing potencies of neuroleptics were very similar with only slightly more activity in human tissue. As a methodological aspect the applicability of the "Lowry" method to determine the protein concentration is discussed.

The present study demonstrates that [3H]imipramine binds to both high- and low-affinity imipramine binding components on membranes prepared from rat cerebral cortex. Scatchard and computer analyses of saturation experiments using a wide range of [3H]imipramine concentrations (0.5 nM-50 nM) revealed the presence of two binding components. Inhibition experiments in which membranes were incubated with [3H]imipramine and various concentrations of unlabelled imipramine gave shallow inhibition curves with a Hill coefficient of 0.60 +/- 0.04. When dissociation rates of imipramine were studied, biphasic dissociation curves were obtained with apparent half-times of dissociation of 2.5 +/- 0.4 min and 18.5 +/- 2.5 min. Thus analysis of saturation, competition, and dissociation experiments indicate that [3H]imipramine binds to low as well as high-affinity binding sites in rat cortex.